Baseball Breaks Single-Season Wins Record with Saturday Sweep of Wheaton

CAROL STREAM, Ill. -- The University of Chicago baseball team continued its record-breaking season on Saturday as the Maroons swept their final doubleheader against Wheaton College, breaking the all-time program record with 27 regular-season victories.

Wheaton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a first-inning run, but the Maroons struck right back in the second. Following a pair of singles by

Wade Hartrick and

Jack Sharp,

Braden Jirovec ripped a two-run double, and

Erik Rindner brought home Jirovec with an RBI single to take a 3-1 lead. UChicago added more insurance runs in the fourth after loading the bases with a single by

Luke Weston and a pair of walks by Jirovec and

Michael Gladden. With two outs, Weston came across to score on an error by the Thunder, and

Ryan Bhojwani added a two-run double, stretching the lead to 6-1.

The Thunder added two runs of their own in the sixth, but UChicago took full control with a big eighth inning to seal the result. The Maroons loaded the bases with one out on singles by Weston and Rindner and a walk by Gladden, and they added a pair of runs on two more walks by

Nathan Bae and Bhojwani.

Max Wiesner then added a two-run single, and following a walk by

Ziggy Bereday,

Jack Sharp brought home Bhojwani on an RBI groundout, extending the UChicago lead to 11-3.

The Maroons continued to add on in the ninth inning as Rindner launched his 12th home run of the season and the 29th home run of his career, bringing home Jirovec in the process, to put the finishing touches on the 13-3 victory for UChicago.

On the mound, five UChicago pitchers combined to allow just three total hits in the game.

Matthew Richert earned the win with 1.2 innings pitched, allowing zero hits and one run.

Russell Kwinter threw 3.0 shutout innings with one hit and three strikeouts, and

Mike Sosna added 1.1 innings in relief, allowing one earned run.

Grant Tenuta and

Alex Casarella closed out the final three innings of work, combining to throw 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and one hit allowed.

In the second game of the day, the Maroons left no doubt with an eight-run second inning. Following a double by

Harrison Belden and a pair of strikeouts, UChicago had the next eight runners reach base, extending the rally.

Jack Sharp singled, and

Luke Weston brought home Belden with an RBI single of his own. Then, after a walk by

Braden Jirovec,

Erik Rindner added a two-run single down the left-field line to make it 3-0. After a wild pitch scored Jirovec, the Thunder walked back-to-back batters to load the bases for

Ryan Bhojwani. Against a new Wheaton pitcher, Bhojwani ripped a 2-0 fastball over the right-center wall, doubling the UChicago lead to 8-0.

The Maroons added two more runs in the third inning after walks by Weston and Rindner and a single by Jirovec loaded the bases.

Michael Gladden brought home Weston on an RBI groundout, and Jirovec scored on a Wheaton throwing error, extending the lead to double digits.

In the fifth inning, Gladden singled home Jirovec, and a bases-loaded walk by

Brady Miller scored

Jackson Berner to make it 12-0 in favor of the Maroons. The Thunder tacked on one run in the seventh inning, but it would not be enough as UChicago took home the 12-1 victory.

Four UChicago pitchers dominated to bring home the win for the Maroons.

Preston Benner threw 3.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and three hits allowed, earning his second win of the season.

Taran Kamat and

Charlie Hahn combined to throw the next three innings, striking out four and allowing only two hits.

David Flanagan came in for the final inning and locked up the win for the Maroons.

Braden Jirovec was exceptional at the plate on the base, going 4-8 and reaching base 7 of 11 times with six runs scored, two RBIs, and three stolen bases. Jirovec also broke the all-time UChicago runs scored record with 165 runs in his career.

Luke Weston also added four hits and five runs scored, and

Erik Rindner tallied five hits, five RBIs, and three runs scored on the day.

With the wins, the Maroons break the University of Chicago program record with 27 wins in the regular season, surpassing the 26 wins in both the 2001 and 2025 seasons. UChicago also extends its win streak to 16 consecutive games, tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the country with East Texas Baptist.

The Maroons will now set their sights on the 2026 NCAA Tournament as UChicago earned its second postseason appearance in program history, joining the 2025 team. The Maroons will learn their playoff path on Monday, May 11, during the NCAA Selection Show, which will air at 11 AM CT on NCAA.com.