Elmhurst, Ill. -- Three weeks after beginning their two-game regular season series at Lee Pfund Stadium, the Wheaton and Elmhurst baseball teams met again in Elmhurst on Wednesday for the second half of their program. The Thunder followed up their dramatic 2-1 walk-off victory against the Bluejays at home with a 6-4 road win tonight to secure the sweep against their local opponents and notch another important result in the quest for conference tournament qualification. Wheaton's record is now 16-21 overall and 8-9 in league play, putting the team in a three-way tie for fourth place in the
CCIW standings alongside North Park and Millikin, who they will face this weekend in the regular season finale.
Tonight's matchup began in a bad way for the visitors, as Wheaton saw two baserunners stranded in the top of the first inning before Elmhurst took the lead on a two-out home run. After a quick second frame,
James Scott registered the Thunder's first hit on Wednesday in the third inning, scoring
Jack Gill via an RBI single into right field. The hosts almost responded in the bottom half by reclaiming the lead, but it was Wheaton's turn to strand two Bluejays on base. Two hit-by-pitches and a single helped the guests load the bags in the top of the fourth, but Elmhurst got the third out before any runners could reach home plate, and the home side went back ahead at 2-1 in the following batting series thanks to a double and line-out to left field.
The fifth inning proved to be the turning point in Wheaton's victory, as the visitors scored three runs to surge in front at 4-2 and led for the remainder of the game. Gill started the party with a single into deep center and was brought home by an RBI double from
Rutledge Feltel. The Thunder then took the lead when
Braden Engel drove in Scott with another single to center field, and a ground-out RBI subsequently capped the strong inning by allowing Feltel to reach the pentagon. Elmhurst went three-up, three-down after a pitching change in the bottom half, and Wheaton capitalized on this momentum by plating another pair of runs in the sixth frame.
Noah Yi got on base with a walk and was eventually allowed to reach home plate when Gill caused a defensive lapse by successfully stealing second. Scott and Feltel then ripped off another single and RBI hit, respectively, to score the former and extend Wheaton's advantage to 6-2. But a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth halved Elmhurst's deficit and slowed the Thunder's charge.
Two double plays in the final three innings proved critical to Wheaton's win, as the visitors did not manage to generate any more offensive momentum in the closing stages and had to rely on sharp pitching and fielding to seal their victory. The Thunder introduced three new pitchers for each of the last three frames, and a three-up, three-down eighth inning gave way to a strikeout and double-play combo in the bottom of the ninth that ended Elmhurst's comeback hopes and confirmed another positive result for Wheaton away from home, marking the team's fifth road win in conference play in 2025.
The Thunder out-hit the Bluejays eight to six this evening and committed only one error to Elmhurst's two. Wheaton's throwers also tallied 13 strikeouts while its host only managed eight. Both teams drew five walks, albeit three Thunder batters were struck by a pitch. Wednesday's contest was a lively one for baserunning, as the visitors stole three bags and the home side took two.
David Levengood (pictured right) got the start for Wheaton tonight and racked up an impressive eight strikeouts in just four innings of work while scattering three hits and two runs from 18 batters faced.
Josh Ortiz pitched the next two innings and sat down three Bluejays in his relief appearance.
Billy Kessler was the third of five Thunder throwers to see time on the mound on Wednesday, and he was followed by
JD Van Hook and
Sean Smith, both of whom registered one strikeout. As the final pitcher of the game, Smith earned another save to his credit, his fifth of the season and eighth of his career. Those tallies are good for second in the conference this year and second all-time in Wheaton history, respectively.
Feltel posted two hits and a game-leading two RBI this evening while scoring one run. Scott and Engel matched him on two hits, with the former scoring twice and generating an RBI and the latter also driving one run in. Gill contributed one hit and two runs for the Thunder, while
Payton McClowry finished with one hit and one RBI.
After a successful four-game stretch away from home, the Thunder will return to Lee Pfund Stadium for the final time this season on Friday evening. Wheaton hosts the Millikin Big Blue in a 6 PM Senior Night contest before traveling to Decatur on Saturday for a doubleheader that will have significant implications on the makeup of this year's CCIW Tournament.
