Wheaton College Athletics

Carol Stream, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team wrapped up its regular season schedule on Saturday afternoon by dropping both ends of a non-conference doubleheader against the University of Chicago. Wheaton dropped the opener 13-3 and fell 12-1 in seven innings in the nightcap to finish the regular season with a record of 16-24 while the Maroons improve to 27-13 overall.

With their participation in the CCIW portion of its schedule already completed, Wheaton's postseason fate was still up in the air as the rest of the CCIW finished its conference slate of games this weekend. Clinging to the sixth and final spot in the upcoming CCIW Tournament with a conference mark of 9-11, Wheaton found the help it needed to secure its postseason bid as Elmhurst took the first two games of its series against North Central to knock the Cardinals out of postseason contention. The Thunder will face third-seeded North Park on Wednesday in an elimination game to be hosted by regular season champion Millikin with a time TBA.

Before the start of Saturday's opening fixture, the team recognized five veteran players as a part of Wheaton's Senior Day festivities: Mason Diel, Nathan Hedlund, Noah Husted, Jack Lindsay, and JD Van Hook.
For the second game in a row, Diel put the Thunder ahead first, driving in Nathan Hedlund with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning. Chicago answered quickly, pushing across three runs with two outs in the top of the second to take a 3-1 advantage and pushed the lead to 6-1 with three unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning. 

Diel's home run in the bottom of the sixth inning was the first of two runs in the inning as the hosts pulled back to within 6-3. Chris Lyman scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch. The Maroons put the game out of reach in the top of the eight inning. plating five runs on three hits and taking advantage of four walks in the inning. They would add a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to account for the 13-3 final tally. 

The Maroons finished with 13 runs on 14 hits with the Thunder pushing across three runs on three hits.

The two-out rally struck victimized the home nine again early in the nightcap of the doubleheader as the Maroons scored eight runs with five hits and four walks all coming with two outs the inning. Chicago would add two runs in the third and two more in the fifth inning before the Thunder pushed across their lone tally when Will Clegg singled home David Levengood in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Note Worthy: Mason Diel's game one home run was the 14th of his career, moving him into a tie for ninth place on the career home run list with Brian Kolb (2007-10).