Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team kicked off a three-game weekend set against the Elmhurst Bluejays on Friday night under the lights at Lee Pfund Stadium. Despite an early lead, the Thunder could not cage the Bluejay bats as the Thunder dropped the lidlifter on the series by a score of 14-3 in eight innings. Wheaton's record drops to 12-14 and 5-5 in conference action while the Bluejays move to 7-18 overall and 1-5 in the CCIW. Wheaton and Elmhurst will conclude their series with a 1 pm doubleheader at Butterfield Park.

Elmhurst scored 14 runs on 11 hits with one error on the night while the Thunder scored three runs on eight hits with three errors. Jonathan Boyles earned the win for Elmhurst, allowing three runs, two earned, in a complete game effort. David Levengood took the loss for the Thunder, allowing four earned runs in five inning sof work with three walks and five strikeouts in five innings of work. The Thunder bullpen combined to allow nine earned runs in three innings of work.

The Bluejays struck first with a run in the top of the first inning, but Wheaton answered quickly and emphatically in the bottom half of the inning. Just three batters into the inning, Jack Gill connected on a three-run home run to right field to put the Thunder ahead 3-1. Elmhurst leveled in the top of the secon inning and pulled ahead with a solo home run in the top of the third inning to lead 4-3. 

Levengood shut out the Bluejays in the fourth, but the visitors separated with another run in the top of the fifth inning and eventually blew the game open with eight runs on just four hits in the top of the eighth inning to account for the 14-3 final.

Tyler Burr and Sean Dmytrowicz paced the Thunder offense with two hits apiece with Burr connecting on one of Wheaton's two extra base hits.