Fort Pierce, Fla. – The Wheaton baseball team opened its weeklong trip to Florida with a doubleheader against Kenyon College on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder and the Owls split the twinbill as Kenyon won the opener 4-0 and Wheaton shut out the Owls 10-0 in the second game behind a stellar outing on the mound by freshman Nate Burden (PICTURED LEFT) . Wheaton's slate of games continues on Monday at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) against Thiel College.

Wheaton won today's second game 10-0 as the Thunder scored 10 runs on 11 hits, with no errors. Kenyon had zero runs, on eight hits, with no errors. Burden (1-2) earned the victory with an outstanding effort as he held the Owls scoreless in seven innings pitched. He scattered eight Kenyon hits, with nine strikeouts and just one walk allowed.

Thunder rightfielder Daniel Hillyer was 2-for-3 at the plate, with a walk as he hit a home run. Hillyer Hillyer scored twice and drove in two runs. Second baseman Jack Gill was 2-for-2 with a walk as he scored run scored and a RBI.  Third baseman Nathan Hedlund was 2-for-4, scoring twice with a RBI. Noah Yi hit a triple for the Thunder, while James Scott and Payton McClowry each collected a double.

Hillyer snapped a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning when he hit a leadoff home run over the leftfield fence. Hedlund tripled three batters later to drive in James Scott who had reached earlier when he was hit by a pitch. Gill drove in Hedlund with a single to rightfield as the Thunder took a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
Wheaton added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Hillyer drew a two-out walk and scored in the next at bat as Scott drove him in with a double. Scott then scored in the next at bat as he crossed the plate on a single by Feltel as Wheaton led 5-0 after five innings.

Yi hit a key two-run triple in the top of the sixth inning and Hillyer drove in a run in the next at bat as the Thunder lead increased to 8-0 after six innings. McClowry belted a two-run double to leftfield to account for the 10-0 final score. Burden struck out the final batter of the game to conclude the win with his ninth strikeout of the game He had at least one strikeout in every inning today, including to strikeouts in the seventh.

Kenyon won today's first game 4-0. The Owls scored four runs, on six hits, with no errors and Wheaton had zero runs on five hits, with one error. Thunder starting pitcher worked six innings, allowing four runs, on just five hits, with five strikeouts and two walks. Micah Johnson pitched one third of an inning, allowing one hit, with one walk. Jack Lindsay pitched two thirds of an inning in relief of Johnson. Lindsay struck out the two batters that he faced.

James was 2-for-3 in the opener. Hillyer, Yi, and Hedlund each added a single and Yi drew two walks in game one.

Kenyon took an early 2-0 lead on a two-run home run in the top of the first inning. The Owls added another two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to account for the 4-0 final score.