WHEATON, Ill. – The University of Chicago softball team held on to a pair of early leads and edged out Wheaton College 1-0 and 4-3 on Thursday.

The No. 21-ranked Maroons improved to 23-5 while the Thunder evened their record at 17-17.

Game One – UChicago 1, Wheaton 0

UChicago tallied the game's only run in the top of the second inning. Junior outfielder Raechel Cloud stroked a double and later stole home as part of a double steal.

That was all the support pitcher Jordan Poole required. The sophomore silenced the Thunder bats and allowed only one hit in her shutout effort. Wheaton got the vast majority of its runners via six walks, but Poole kept all the free passes from reaching home plate. She ran her record to 14-1 on the season and struck out three batters.

The Maroons totaled six hits, with Cloud going 2-for-2.

Game Two – UChicago 4, Wheaton 3

Senior third baseman Maddie McManus got UChicago on the scoreboard right away with a RBI double in the top of the first inning. She then came around to score on Poole's single to right center. In the second inning, sophomore shortstop Kristin Lopez doubled and then scored on a single by senior outfielder Julia Covello.

Wheaton came back to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom half of the frame thanks to a leadoff home run and a run-scoring error. UChicago extended its advantage in the fifth inning on back-to-back doubles by Poole and sophomore first baseman Kathleen Kohm.

The 4-2 lead was maintained until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Thunder began to stage a comeback. Wheaton got within one on a RBI triple, but the runner on third base was thrown out at the plate two batters later. With runners on second and third, junior pitcher Tabbetha Bohac reared back and struck out the final batter to preserve her victory.

Bohac (9-4) tossed all seven innings in the circle. She surrendered eight hits and three walks while striking out six batters. Only one of her three runs was earned.

The Maroons piled up 11 hits offensively, but struggled on defense with four errors. McManus was a catalyst at the plate, hitting 3-for-4 with one RBI. Covello went 2-for-2 with one RBI and Poole was 2-for-4 with one RBI.

NEXT GAMES:

• Friday, Apr. 25 – Elmhurst College at UChicago (DH), 3 PM