WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals baseball team split its home opener Friday night with the Glenville State Pioneers. WJU held Glenville State to a single run in its game one 3-1 victory before the Pioneers struck for three first inning scores in game two, and defeated the Cardinals, 9-4.
Dillon Sunnafrank picked up his second complete game victory of the season, as he struck out four Pioneers over his seven innings of work. Sunnafrank allowed a solo homerun in the fifth inning to account for the Pioneers only score.
Joe San Felippo, Brock McGivern, and Cody Hudson each drove in a run in the Cardinals victory.
Logan Hudson would be charged with the game two loss after Glenville plated three runners in the first frame. (Logan) Hudson lasted 4.2 innings and allowed six runs.
Game 1:
San Felippo put the Cardinals on the scoreboard in their first at bat of the afternoon. Tony Connacher singled up the middle and later stole third base, from where San Felippo drove him in on a sacrifice fly.
Cody Hudson led off the third inning with a base hit and successfully swiped second base. McGivern brought Hudson home later in the inning, and WJU led 2-0.
Christopher Brake was hit by a pitch in the fourth and Jagger Bruck reached on a walk. (Cody) Hudson came to the plate and drove in Brake with his second single in as many plate appearances.
Hudson finished with three base hits in game one, while Connacher and Sunnfrank each recorded two hits.
Game 2:
Glenville State led, 4-0, after two innings of play before WJU plated a run in the third and fourth innings.
Connacher reached on a leadoff single down the right field line, and stole second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch. (Cody) Hudson grounded out to third base and scored Connacher to cut into the Pioneer lead, 4-1.
Logan Schickler reached to begin the bottom half of the fourth inning, and later stole second. Brake scored Schickler and WJU trailed, 4-2.
Bruck doubled home San Felippo in the sixth inning, and the Cardinals trailed 8-3. Connacher led off the sixth with a base hit, stole second base, and was scored by a Sunnfrank sacrifice fly. The Cardinals would trail 8-4 heading into the eighth innnig.
Kyle Rees replaced (Logan) Hudson with two outs in the fifth inning. He threw 1.1 inning and allowed three runs, two of which were earned. Logan Menear tallied the last three innings for WJU, allowing 1 run and striking out three.
Connacher finished three for three at the plate in game two. Bruck added two hits to the Cardinals box score, while Hudson and Brake each tallied one hit.
The Cardinals return to the diamond tomorrow, Saturday March 26 to host West Virginia Wesleyan in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
