Punta Gorda, Fla. - The Thunder bats came alive in a big way on Friday afternoon, powering the Thunder baseball team to a doubleheader sweep over Moravian College and Bluffton University. Wheaton has now won its last four games and will conclude its spring trip tomorrow morning against John Carroll University at 10 PM (EST). Wheaton and Bluffton are each 6-3 on the season.

Wheaton plated four runs on eight hits with two errors in the lidlifter against Moravian. The Thunder scored 19 runs on 21 hits with two errors in the nightcap against Bluffton, marking the most runs Wheaton has scored in a game since a 20-1 victory at Millikin on April 16, 2011. Wheaton's 21 hits is the highest single game total since the Thunder also tallied 21 hits in a 15-4 victory at Elmhurst on April 1, 2014.

​Moravian pushed across one run in the top of the first inning and added to its lead with another run in the top of the fifth inning against Thunder starter Daniel Bayer (PICTURED RIGHT) on Friday morning. Stymied through the first four innings, Wheaton's bats exploded to tie the game in just three swings of the bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. Clay Morrison led off the inning with a bloop single to left field and was driven in quickly on a Ben Brittain triple to left field. Peter Newman followed with a sacrifice fly to score Brittain and tie the game 2-2.

Wheaton's two-run sixth inning happened almost as quickly after Nick Mailman led off the inning with a triple to left-center field. Brett Albaugh's sacrifice fly two batters later gave Wheaton a 3-2 lead. Johnny Peltz restarted the Wheaton rally with a two-out single and after stealing second base, came around to score on Morrison's single to left field. After scattering eight hits through the first four innings of the game, Bayer settled down and finished seven innings of work with five strikeouts. John Schmitz closed the game for the Thunder, scattering two hits in two innings of work for the six-out save.


The Thunder offense wasted no time going to work in the afternoon game against Bluffton. Mailman drove the first pitch of the game off the center field wall for a double and trotted hme on Ben Brittain's single two batters later. John McKenna highlighted Wheaton's six-run first inning with a towering grand slam home run to left field. Taking advantage of the favorable hitting conditions, the Beavers countered with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and two more in the bottom of the second inning to get back within 6-5.

​Wheaton's offense exploded again in the top of the fourth inning, sending 14 hitters to the plate in a nine-run outburst. The Thunder offense ripped seven singles in the inning, with Brittain's (PICTURED LEFT) double serving as the only extra-base hit of the inning. McKenna would add two more runs batted in with a single and Jacob Zeller drove in a run in both of his fourth-inning at-bats. The Thunder added one run each in the fifth and sixth innings and two final runs in the top of the ninth inning. Bluffton would rally with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to account for its nine runs.

Michael McCraith earned the victory on the mound for the Thunder, allowing nine runs in 5.1 innings of work, striking out eight. Caleb Selk earned his first career save with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Ben Brittain led the Thunder offense with a four-hit performance that included two doubles and two runs driven in. Mailman, Zeller, Peltz, Newman and McKenna also recorded multi-hit games.