Carol Stream, Ill. -- The Thunder baseball team concluded a six-game home stand at Lee Pfund Stadium on Saturday by splitting a doubleheader against Edgewood College. Wheaton took advantage of a seven-run sixth inning in game one to solidify a 11-6 victory. Game two proved to be a thriller as the visiting Eagles edged out the Thunder, 15-14. The non-conference games brought Wheaton's record to 11-17 overall (4-5 in CCIW games), while Edgewood's record now sits at 13-13.
Riding a three-game winning streak, Edgewood got off to a promising start in game one and led 3-0 heading into the bottom of fourth inning. Rutledge Feltel got hit-by-pitch and advanced on a base hit by Jack Gill. Luke Hamm drove the duo in on a liner to right-center field. The knock secured the senior's sixth-straight game with a hit. The score stalled at 3-2 until the sixth inning.
A two-run home run in the top of the sixth strengthened the Edgewood lead to 5-2. Hamm took a walk and crossed the plate on a two-run blast over the left field fence by freshman Will Clegg, the first home run of his young career. Wheaton scored five more runs in the inning, all with two outs. A flaring double to right field by Noah Yi drove in a hustling Sean Dmytrowicz from first base. Nathan Hedlund walked behind him but scored along with Yi on a single by Braden Engel. Feltel launched a no-doubt home run to cap off the inning and give the Orange and Blue their first lead of the game at 9-5.
Clegg kept the momentum going in the bottom of the seventh inning, reaching second base on an error and advancing to third on a balk. David Levengood pieced a ball up the middle to score the run. A couple batters later, Nathan Hedlund scored Dmytrowicz on a base hit. The Eagles scored one more run in the top of the eighth to make the score 11-6 Thunder, and that's where the score would remain.
Senior Jared Kloth was brilliant on the mound, completing eight innings, allowing four earned runs, and striking out four batters. Jack Lindsay pitched the ninth, striking out one and allowing no hits, as the Thunder celebrated with a hand-shake line.
The Thunder offense exploded for their first double-digit score since March 8 against Kenyon. In the game, Wheaton had 11 runs on 16 hits and three errors. Edgewood was outmatched, with six runs, eight hits, and four errors. Clegg led the team in extra base hits with a home run and double, a part of his three-hit game and two RBI. Feltel included a home run in his game while Yi had a double. Gill and Engel also collected three hits, while Engel drove in two runs. Yi and Hedlund each had two hits and an RBI at the top of the lineup. Feltel, Hamm, and Levengood rounded out the offense with a hit apiece, with Feltel and Hamm notching two RBI each.
Noteworthy: Luke Hamm threw out his 13th runner of the season, the 38th runner caught stealing of his career. The senior captain is now in sole possession of second in Thunder program history for runners caught stealing behind Kyle Trivits' 51 runners.
The combination of the beautiful weather and a free food-giveaway as part of Wheaton Athletics celebrating NCAA Division III Week brought droves of energetic fans to Pfund Stadium for game two. Edgewood won the back-and-forth game, 15-14. They managed 17 hits and minimized their mistakes to only one error. The Thunder offense stayed hot tallying 16 hits; the defense finished the game with four errors.
Engel lined a ball to the opposite gap in the bottom of the first inning. With two strikes, Feltel followed with a screaming line drive double to bring in the first run of the game. After that, the bats were kept in check on both sides, with the score frozen at 1-0 until the fifth inning. The Eagles were finally able to put some at bats to use in the sixth and scored six runs, taking a 6-1 lead.
Wheaton answered back in the bottom half, as Yi led off the inning with a single. Gill doubled and an intentional walk to the red-hot Feltel loaded the bases for
Ryan Cartwright. The sophomore poked the ball deep enough into the outfield to score Yi on a sacrifice fly. Clegg singled to score Gill. A walk to
Noah Husted once again loaded the bases. This time, Levengood smoked a ball to the right-field gap which cleared the bases. Dmytrowicz beat out a chopper to third base, scoring Levengood, and Wheaton quickly erased the deficit, taking a 7-6 lead.
Starting pitcher Alex Bagley pitched well, allowing two earned runs in five innings while striking out four batters.
The sixth inning did not disappoint. Edgewood took a 10-6 lead thanks to a four-run rally. Gill
(pictured right) led off the bottom half with a single. Engel kept the line moving with a single, and another walk to Feltel loaded the bases. Cartwright came through with a hard single to opposite field, scoring two runners. A walk to Clegg crowded the bases once again, and Feltel scored on a wild pitch. Husted drove a fly ball to centerfield which scored a run on a sacrifice fly. Two more singles by Levengood and Gill scored runs, capping off a seven-run sixth inning. Wheaton took a 14-10 lead.
The Eagles pitching settled in for the remaining three innings, facing the minimum as Wheaton was not able to muster anymore run support. Edgewood scored two runs in the seventh and eighth inning, as well as the winning run in the ninth to secure the series split.
Gill led the way offensively for the home team in game two, with a career-high four hits as well as two RBI. Gill, Feltel, and Clegg all hit doubles in game two of the twinbill. Engel, Feltel, Clegg, Levengood, and Dmytrowicz each had a multi-hit game. Levengood had a three-bagger and four-RBI night which led the team. Not far behind, Cartwright was responsible for driving in three runs.
Wheaton will look to keep the bats hot heading back into conference play next week. The Thunder hit the road Wednesday for CCIW action against Augustana. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM in the single game.
