Carol Stream, Ill. – The Wheaton baseball team started its three-game weekend series against the Augustana College Vikings on Friday night at Lee Pfund Stadium. Wheaton used a strong outing from starting pitcher David Levengood and timely hitting to defeat the Vikings 8-1.

The Thunder scored eight runs, on five hits, with two errors while the Vikings plated one run, on five hits, with two errors. Levengood (2-3) earned the win in seven innings. He allowed one run, on four hits, with four strikeouts and one walk. After giving up a solo home run and a single in the first inning, Levengood tossed 5-1/3 innings of hitless baseball.  

Billy Kessler pitched an inning of scoreless relief as he allowed one hit, struck out one batter and had no walks. Caleb Henderson pitched the final inning for the Thunder. Henderson struck out two batters and held the Vikings hitless and scoreless.

Thunder first baseman Charie Scofield (PICTURED LEFT) was 3-for-4, including a double and a walk drawn. He scored twice and drove in one run. Designated hitter Mason Diel was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk as he drove in two runs and scored once. James Scott was 2-for-4, with a walk and a run scored.

Augustana's Ryan Coon hit wind-aided home run to rightfield with one-out in the top of the first inning. Levengood induced a groundout double play to end the top of the first. The Thunder offense backed up its starting pitcher with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Diel started Wheaton's offense with a two-run double to right centerfield that drove in Scot and James Gill. Chris Lynam followed two batters later with a two-run single to left field as Diel and Braden Engle scored to account for Wheaton's 4-1 lead at the end of the first inning.

Lynam drove in a run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the third inning to extend the hosts' lead to 5-1. Engle stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and hit a single to left centerfield that brought Gill home for a 6-1 lead. Scofield scored an unearned run later in the seventh to increase Wheaton's lead to 7-1.
Scofield hit a two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in Burr. Burr's run accounted for the 8-1 final score in favor of the Thunder.

The two teams conclude the series tomorrow in Moline with a doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m. (CDT).