Carol Stream, Ill. -- The Wheaton baseball team returned to Lee Pfund Stadium on Thursday evening to continue its stretch of six-consecutive home games. The Thunder played host to Elmhurst University in a single game tonight, and Wheaton earned a dramatic 2-1 win over the Bluejays to take the first matchup of their two-game regular season series. The walk-off win for the home side marked Wheaton's tenth victory of the year overall and its first victory in walk-off fashion since a 4-3 result against the same opponent last April. The Thunder are now 4-5 in conference play, and they will not complete their series with the Bluejays until the last day of this month.
Thursday's event was a defensive struggle, as the two squads combined for only eight hits, one extra-base hit, and left nine total runners on base through the nine innings. Wheaton registered five hits to Elmhurst's three, committed the lone error of a clean game, and stole two bases to the Bluejays' one. Additionally, the hosts drew five walks while the visitors earned just two.
Both starting pitchers had strong showings this evening, as
Nate Burden struck out 13 Elmhurst players, conceded just three hits from 30 batters faced, and did not allow any earned runs. The Bluejays' first thrower gave up just two hits and one run from 26 batters faced while tallying six strikeouts.
JD Van Hook came in for one inning of relief tonight and earned his team-leading fourth win of the year on the mound by sitting down two Elmhurst batters in the final frame.
Noah Yi led all players with two hits on Thursday, scored Wheaton's first run of the night, and stole one base.
Michael Chang entered the contest as a pinch runner in the bottom of the ninth and scored the game-winning run while also stealing a base.
Luke Hamm posted one hit tonight, and he was joined on this figure by
Rutledge Feltel, whose hit prompted Chang's entry as the decisive pinch runner.
Noah Husted (pictured left) accounted for
Wheaton's fifth and final hit of the game, and it was his walk-off RBI that sealed the win for the Thunder.
After a three-up, three-down first batting series for the Bluejays, Yi led off with a single up the middle, and Wheaton subsequently loaded the bases thanks to three walks. But Elmhurst forced a fly-out that ended the inning before the hosts could bring any of these runners home. The visitors broke the deadlock in the third inning from an RBI single that was preempted by the only error of the night, and Wheaton was not able to respond quickly to this setback, generating no hits until the sixth frame. Yi began the bottom of the sixth with the game's only extra-base hit, a double into left center field. The senior advanced to third base on the next at bat, and a well-timed wild pitch then allowed him to reach home plate and tie the score at 1-1.
Neither side came particularly close to scoring again until the bottom of the ninth inning, and it appeared as though at least one extra frame was on the cards. But Feltel got on base with a single into right center, and Chang promptly took his place and stole second to give Wheaton hope of a victory in regulation. Hamm then picked the perfect time to register his hit for the night, firing off another single to move Chang up to third and put the Thunder on the cusp. With only one out to spare, Husted stepped up and launched a clutch hit into center field which two incoming Elmhurst outfielders were unable to deal with, and the junior's first hit of the season was enough to help Chang cross home plate and set off his team's celebrations.
After grabbing an important conference win in exciting fashion, the Wheaton squad will take the Lee Pfund Stadium turf again on Saturday in a home doubleheader against Edgewood College. The non-conference twinbill is set to begin at 2 PM with the second game starting at approximately 5 PM.
