Tucson, Ariz. – The Wheaton baseball team opened its Spring Break trip on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against Concordia (Wis.). The Thunder won the opening game 10-7 and the Falcons defeated Wheaton 10-8 in the second game. The week-long slate of games continues on Monday at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) as Wheaton faces Bethany Lutheran College.
Wheaton won the first game today against CUW, 10-7. The Thunder scored 10 runs, on 15 hits, with two errors and Concordia tallied seven runs, on 10 hits, with two errors. Thunder starting pitcher
Alex Bagley pitched the first 3-2/3 innings, scattering seven hits, with five runs, including four earned runs, as he struck out three batters, with zero walks allowed. Bagley tossed 2-2/3 innings of hitless baseball to open the game.
Billy Kessler (1-0) pitched an 1-1/3 innings of relief as he allowed one run, on three hits to earn the victory. JD VanHook earned the save as he pitched two innings of relief, allowing one unearned run, with one strikeout and two walks allowed.
Freshman centerfielder
Tyler Burr (PICTURED LEFT) was 3-for-5, with a double as he drove in two runs and scored once.
Mason Diel,
James Scott and Sean Dmyotrowicz were each 2-for-3 for the Thunder. Dmyotrowicz and
Nathan Hedlund each hit a double,
Charlie Scofield hit a double and
Caleb Schauer hit a pinch-hit home run.
Wheaton was first to put a run on the scoreboard as Hedlund hit a double to rightfield in front of the Falcons' sliding right fielder and then scored two batters later on RBI-single to leftfield by Burr. CUW scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning to tie the contest at 1-1. Scofield led off the top of the fourth inning with a triple to right field, and he scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Chris Lynam. Scofield's run gave the Thunder a 2-1 lead. The Falcons responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead on the Thunder.
Wheaton broke the game open in the top of the sixth inning with five runs to take a 7-5 lead. The productive inning was highlighted by a two-run single for
Will Clegg that tied the game at 5-5. Scott and
Jack Gill each added a RBI-single as the Thunder led 7-5 heading into the bottom of the sixth. CUW added a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut Wheaton's lead to 7-6.
Schauer led off the top of the seventh inning with a home run over the leftfield fence. Clegg followed four batters later with a sacrifice fly and Burr hit a RBI-double as the Thunder extended their lead to 10-6. The Falcons tallied an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh to account for the 10-7 final score.
Concordia (Wis.) defeated the Thunder 10-8 in today's second game as the Falcons scored 10 runs, on 14 hits, with three errors and Wheaton registered eight runs on 10 hits, with one error.
David Levengood pitched three innings, allowing five runs, on five hits, with four strikeouts and one walk. Hedlund pitched one inning of relief as he allowed four runs, on four hits.
Austin Eilmes scattered five hits in 2-2/3 innings as he allowed one run. He struck out three batters with no walks.
Caleb Henderson pitched 1/3 of an inning.
Scofield, the designated hitter, was 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI. Gill and Dmyotrowicz each had two hits. Clegg and Gill each hit a home run, while Gill also recorded a triple.
The Falcons scored four runs in the top of the second inning to take an early 4-0 lead. CUW added a run in the top of the third to go up 5-0. Gill hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 5-2.
Concordia hit a pair of two-run home runs in the top of the fourth to increase their lead to 9-2. Clegg responded with his own two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the CUW lead to 9-4. Scofield hit a RBI-single that allowed two runs to scored in the bottom of the sixth as Wheaton trimmed the Concordia lead to 9-6.
The Falcons added one run in top of the seventh inning to go up 10-6. Burr stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and he laced a single to center field that scored two runs and cut the CUW lead to 10-8. However, the Thunder rally fell short with a double play to end the game.
