FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- The twin bill between the Kenyon College Owls and Wheaton College Thunder was a tale of two halves, as the two teams swapped shutouts to split the action at the Lawnwood Baseball Complex. Kenyon (2-5) came out hot and won game one 4-0, but Wheaton (2-6) bounced back with a 10-0 win to secure the split.

The Owls could not have asked for a better start to the day, and the team needed just three batters to shake off any lingering thought of last night's heartbreaking walk-off loss. Nate Rosen led off game one with a single to set the table, and Dustin Lee landed the first blow with a home run down the left field line to quickly put Kenyon on top 2-0. The big blast marked Lee's third straight game with a homer, matching his season-long output from last year's breakout junior campaign.

Kenyon's strong start continued into the bottom of the first as Frank Lynch battled through adversity to record three big outs. Wheaton was set up to answer with runners on the corners and no outs after a leadoff walk, a passed ball, and a single as Lynch was still looking for his rhythm. A wild pitch looked like trouble as a speedy runner rushed home, but Lynch laid out and beat the runner to the plate, diving in and applying the tag to record the inning's first out. The Thunder threatened with another single, but the senior starter worked out of trouble to put a zero on the board.

Lynch settled in after that, and he spun his second stellar start of the season. The lefty threw 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two additional hits and striking out four after the first frame. Lynch is one of two Owls with a 0.00 ERA this season, and he clinched his 13th career win to tie for eighth all-time in the Kenyon record books.

Christian Harris is the other Owl with a 0.00 ERA, and Harris helped close out the game-one shutout. Another lefty senior, Harris struck out two and allowed just one hit in two scoreless innings.

Both pitchers benefitted from swings that provided two runs of support. In the sixth inning, Parker Gibbons got a hold of one, hitting a two-run homer to right field that doubled Kenyon's lead to 4-0. The blast was Gibbons' first this season, and he finished the game going 2-for-3 at the plate for his season's first multi-hit game.

The senior stayed hot in game two with a 3-for-3 showing, finishing the day hitting .833 (5-for-6) across the doubleheader. Unfortunately for the Owls, Kenyon was unable to stay as hot as in game two.

Lewis Cropper started strong, extending Kenyon's streak to 10 straight scoreless innings on the mound. However, everything changed in the fourth frame when Wheaton got on the board with a solo homer. The Thunder tacked on an RBI triple and an RBI single to take a 3-0 lead, and they scored multiple runs in each of the remaining innings. 

Wheaton's offense added two in the fifth, three in the sixth, and two in the seventh. On the other side, Kenyon's offense was bogged down by Wheaton's pitcher, Nate Burden. The first-year lived up to his last name, shouldering the load with a complete game shutout. Burden allowed eight hits over his 7.0 innings, but he also struck out the Owls nine times to help keep Kenyon scoreless.

Kenyon has a day off before another two-game day on Monday, March 10. Instead of a pair of seven-inning games against the same opponent, the Owls are scheduled to play full games against both Washington College (Md.) and Gettysburg College. Game one is set to start at 10 a.m., while game two is scheduled for 2 p.m.