Bouncing back

The Thunder’s four-game winning streak came to an end last Friday as the men dropped a doubleheader to Carroll. Wheaton tallied nine hits in both of the games, but were seemingly unable to string together more than a couple hits at a time, resulting in only four runs over the course of the doubleheader. The lack of run support was particularly felt in the second game, as the Thunder lost 1-2 in a game that went 11 innings. Freshman pitcher Alex Hanvey earned a No Decision despite a fantastic performance on the mound, going seven innings while allowing only six hits, one earned run and walking one batter.
After the two losses on Friday, the Thunder bounced back on Saturday with two victories in a double-header against Carthage. Senior pitcher Daniel Bayer threw a complete game in the opener, allowing seven hits, two earned runs and striking out six. Senior John McKenna led the offensive charge with two hits in the game, including a homerun and three RBIs.
The second win came off an eight inning outing by sophomore pitcher Michael McCraith, improving his record to 6-1 as a starter this season. In his last four starts, McCraith has thrown 28 innings, surrendering just eight hits and two earned runs while striking out 32. This game also saw every Thunder hitter reach base at least once over the course of the game, as they went on to win 7-2.
Wheaton’s conference record is now 8-6, and they sit right in the middle of the CCIW standings at fifth place. Thunder fans will be supporting the team on Saturday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 25 at Lee Pfund Stadium as they take on Augustana in a three-game series before playing North Central on Tuesday. Both Augustana and North Central are ahead of Wheaton in the conference standings, so wins against them over the next few days are extremely crucial.