GAME STATS Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder baseball team returned home on Thursday night after a trip to Arizona to take on Concordia Chicago. Stellar pitching from the Cougars' bullpen stifled what had been an otherwise strong Wheaton offense throughout the season in a 4-1 victory for Concordia. Wheaton falls to 6-9 with the loss, while Concordia Chicago improves to 5-8.

The Cougars struck first in the opening frame and would not relinquish their lead. A leadoff walk from starting pitcher David Levengood — the first and only walk of his outing — was driven in by Brandon Mahler. Levengood settled in from there, completing seven innings of work, a career-high, on an efficient 84 pitches before exiting the game.
Concordia opted to deploy its bullpen, with nine pitchers throwing one inning apiece. The constant changes may have contributed to quieting a lineup that, entering the evening, ranked 19th in Division III in batting average.

Scoring went quiet for both sides until the sixth inning, when the visitors struck for two more. A leadoff single and ensuing double put runners on second and third with no outs. A groundball to second scored the first run, and a wild pitch brought in the trailing runner.

The Thunder found a spark after recording two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two consecutive walks followed by a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Chris Lynam. On a 3-2 count with the runners moving on the pitcher's first motion, Lynam hit a ball down the third base line. The Cougars' third baseman was forced deep into the hole and could not field it cleanly, and Lynam was comfortably in at first.

The Thunder could not add on from there. Freshman Kyle Grier entered in the ninth, giving up two hits and one unearned run.
On the mound, Levengood was sharp through seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Caleb Henderson and Grier combined to throw the final two innings, allowing no earned runs and one walk.

At the plate, Lynam went 1-for-3 with an RBI. The Thunder recorded four hits, three walks, and three hit-by-pitches (HBP) while striking out seven times.
The loss brings Wheaton's season HBP total to 45. Entering the evening, the Thunder ranked 16th in the country in that category.
The Thunder open conference play this Saturday, hosting Millikin in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.