Carol Stream, Ill. -- The Wheaton baseball team returned to Lee Pfund Stadium this evening for another Friday conference series-opener, welcoming Carroll University for the first section of their three-game billing. The Wisconsin side overturned an early deficit amid ideal weather conditions to win tonight's contest, 9-2, and claimed a valuable road win in the race for CCIW Tournament qualification. The Thunder now own a season record of 14-19 with a 7-10 tally in league play, while the Pioneers have a 20-16 overall record and have edged ahead of Wheaton in
the conference standings with an 8-9 mark. The two squads will finish their weekend series tomorrow with a twinbill in Waukesha.
The Orange and Blue got off to a strong start on both sides of the ball this evening, but Carroll managed to stifle the Thunder's offensive momentum as the game wore on and eventually passed them in the hits column, finishing with 11 to Wheaton's seven. The Pios rattled off five extra-base hits, including three home runs, while allowing two doubles and a triple from the home side. Both teams stranded six opposition runners and struck out four times, but Carroll's four bases earned from hit-by-pitch plays and four stolen bags gave the visitors a key advantage around the diamond.
Jack Gill and
Charlie Scofield led the Thunder bats on Friday, with each player going 2-4 at the plate and Gill ripping off a double and a triple. He scored one time from a Scofield RBI.
Mason Diel joined Gill on one double and one run, while
Sean Dmytrowicz logged one hit and was responsible for Wheaton's first RBI.
Chris Lynam also contributed a hit this evening.
David Levengood started the game for Wheaton and struck out four Pioneers through 6.2 innings of work while giving up seven hits from the 31 batters he faced.
Jack Mazurowski,
Jonah Moulton, and
Jack Lindsay all saw time on the mound in relief on Friday. Carroll's starting pitcher claimed his fifth win of the season via a complete game, also tallying four strikeouts and conceding seven hits while giving up two runs and two walks.
After both squads began the game with a three-up, three-down sequence, two strikeouts and a noteworthy full-extension snag by Gill gave Wheaton a boost heading into the bottom of the second inning. Diel led off with a double down the left field line, and this was followed by consecutive singles from Scofield and Lynam to load the bags. Carroll grabbed back-to-back outs to halt the Thunder's progress, but Dmytrowicz dropped a single in between the second baseman and right fielder to bring Diel across home plate for the first run. A fly out in the next at bat ended the inning, however, as Wheaton left runners on all three bases and was unable to extend its one-run lead.
Carroll's lead-off hitter managed to reach second base in the following frame, but the Thunder picked up a third out to successfully strand him before doubling their advantage in the bottom half. Gill blasted a triple into right field and was soon brought all the way around by a first-pitch RBI single from Scofield. Wheaton had runners on first and second with two outs to spare but could not further press home its advantage on the scoreboard, and this would prove significant in the game's ultimate outcome. The Pioneers wasted little time in capitalizing on the missed opportunity, taking their first lead in the top of the fourth thanks to a three-run homer over the right field wall.
A stolen base and a ground-rule double accounted for the visitors' next run in the fifth inning. Gill answered with a double of his own in the bottom, but a well-timed double play got Carroll's defense off the field without further damage. The Badger State travelers seized control of proceedings in the seventh frame via a sacrifice fly and a two-score home run that stretched their edge to 7-2. The Pios launched one more home run in the final batting series as an exclamation point, but their win was secured through impressive defensive play, as Carroll kept Wheaton off the bases in each of the last four innings.
The Thunder will travel north of the state line on Saturday for games two and three of their series against the Pioneers. The doubleheader is set for a 1 PM start in Waukesha with the final matchup of the weekend scheduled to begin at approximately 4 PM tomorrow. Wheaton is next at home on Wednesday night to take on Illinois Wesleyan University in the team's final conference game of the regular season.
