Baseball 3/21/2017 9:21:00 PM Michael McDonald, Assistant Sports Information Director

WJU Baseball -- Weekend Preview – Cardinals Host Cavs and Mountain Lions in Home-Opener

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit baseball team opens its 2017 home season with a pair of weekend doubleheaders.

The Cardinals welcome the University of Virginia's College at Wise on Saturday, March 25 before hosting the Concord Mountain Lions on Sunday. Weather permitting, Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start while Sunday's first pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

WJU Notes:
The Cardinals dropped their first two doubleheaders of the 2017 Mountain East Conference schedule to Glenville State and West Virginia Wesleyan last weekend. On Sunday, WJU fell by scores of 5-4 and 2-0, and on Monday, the Cardinals dropped two outings by scores of 3-1 and 5-4.

Michael Finch and Benjamin Standiford turned in solid outings on the hill for the Cardinals against the Glenville State Pioneers. Finch tossed seven innings and allowed two earned runs in game one while Standiford lasted five innings without giving up an earned run in game two.

Josh Bell continued the strong pitching effort for WJU on Monday, charting six innings and allowing just one earned run versus the Bobcats. Senior Kyle Rees started and threw six innings in the game two loss for WJU.

Freshman Drake May continues to lead WJU with 15 base hits. May is hitting .313 in 48 at bats and has started in all 14 games. RJ Harris, Dalton Davis, and Matthew Angelini all have 10 hits on the season. Harris is hitting .345 in 29 at bats and has driven in a team-high seven runs to date.

Finch leads WJU with a 2.00 earned run average over his three starts and 18 total innings. Bell trails closely with his 2.25 ERA over a 16-inning span while Rees has charted a 3.44 mark over a team-leading 18.1 innings of work. Standiford holds a 3.75 ERA in three starts and five total outings, and has struck out six hitters in his 12 innings of work.

UVa-Wise Cavalier Notes:
Virginia Wise enters the weekend 5-0 in their last five outings, including a pair of doubleheader sweeps over Urbana University and Notre Dame College. UVa-Wise took all four MEC games by one run each. After beginning the season 4-10, Wise has now amassed a record of 10-12 and leads the early-season MEC South Division rankings at 4-0.

Stuart Perz leads Wise with a .382 average in 68 at bats. Perz has season totals of 26 hits, five doubles, and 12 RBI's. David Thomas is hitting .341 in 82 at bats while driving in a team-high 20 RBI's. On the hill, Dylan Luttrell has appeared in nine outings as a reliever, charting a 1.64 ERA. Luttrell has recorded two saves and struck out nine hitters in 11 innings of work. Alex Dobry has made seven appearances out of the pen, compiling a 2.08 ERA and a 1-0 record.

2016 Season Series:
Wheeling Jesuit swept the 2016 season series from the Cavaliers, 2-0. In the Cardinals 3-2 game one victory, Dillon Sunnafrank blasted two home runs to guide WJU's offensive attack. WJU would win 9-3 in game two to sweep past the Cavaliers. Standiford earned a victory in the sweep.

Since the joining of the MEC for the 2014 season, WJU holds a 7-3 record against UVa-Wise.

Sunnafrank has had his way with the Cavaliers, as in 2015 Sunanfrank finished the first day of the four-game weekend series with six-RBI's and a home run. In the second doubleheader, Sunnafrank earned a victory on the hill while finishing 5-7 at the plate with two doubles, two runs, and a RBI.

Concord Mountain Lion Notes:
Concord enters the weekend 4-1 over their last five games including a 3-1 stretch last weekend. The Mountain Lions took both games from Notre Dame College before splitting with the Urbana Blue Knights on Monday. Concord erupted for 29 runs in the game-two routing of the Blue Knights.

Chad Frazier leads Concord with a .478 batting average over his 67 at bats. Frazier has tallied 32 hits, 31 runs, 47 total bases and 12 RBI's over the first 20 games of the season for Concord. Trevor Wiersma has too appeared in all 20 games, hitting .400 with 26 hits, 25 runs, and a team-leading 20 RBI's. On the hill, Concord is led by Troy Beckner's 2.56 ERA and 3-0 record over five starts. Beckner has tossed 31.2 innings and struck out 19 hitters. Austin Southott has started five games and struck out a Concord-best 21 opponents.

2016 Season Series:
Concord and Wheeling Jesuit split the 2016 season series one game apiece. In WJU's 8-6 victory, Sunnafrank finished with two RBI's and Adam Dennison had one. Concord erupted for 19 runs in game two to beat WJU, 19-4.

Since the joining of the MEC for the 2014 season, WJU and Concord have met 10 times, with Concord holding an 8-2 upper hand over WJU.

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