BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (March 23) - The Wheeling Jesuit University baseball team took one out of two at West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) doubleheader. The Bobcats rallied to walk off the Cardinals 7-6 in the opener, before a strong outing by freshman pitcher
Zach Rohaley (Washington, Pa./Canon-McMillan) propelled WJU to a 3-2 win in game two.
The Cardinals improve to 3-15 overall, 2-4 in the MEC. Meanwhile, West Virginia Wesleyan moves to 8-14 overall, 1-5 in league play this season.
GAME ONE: West Virginia Wesleyan 7, Wheeling Jesuit 6
A rally in the seventh inning sent the Cardinals to defeat in game one of the doubleheader.
The Cardinals got on the board first with consecutive bases loaded walks to take a 2-0 lead.
WVWC answered back with a run in the second on a RBI-single, but Wheeling Jesuit maintained a 2-1 lead after a second runner trying to score was thrown out at the plate.
The Cardinals quickly got the run back when junior
Hayden Hizer (Paden City, W.Va./Paden City) scored on a wild pitch to rebuild the WJU lead to two at 3-1.
Freshman
Lucas Rawlins (Pickerington, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) increased the lead to 4-1 with a fourth inning RBI-single, before the Bobcats posted three runs in the bottom of the frame to tie the game up.
Wheeling Jesuit reclaimed the lead in the fifth with the help of two wild pitches that brought two runs across and gave the Cards a 6-4 lead that they held heading into the bottom of the seventh.
WVWC managed to load the bases and score two runs on walks, before a sacrifice fly to right field brought in the game-winning run to complete the rally.
Junior pitcher
Josh Bell (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits with one strikeout to take a no-decision in the loss.
Rawlins and Hizer each finished with two base hits to lead the offense.
GAME TWO: Wheeling Jesuit 3, West Virginia Wesleyan 2
The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning and it was enough support for pitcher
Zach Rohaley in the team's 3-2 win to split the doubleheader.
Rohaley (2-2) tossed a complete-game (seven innings) and limited the Bobcats to two runs (zero earned) on four hits with six strikeouts.
WJU scored twice in the second inning on a RBI ground out by Hizer and a passed ball that brought Rawlins to the plate. Rawlins helped to add to the lead in the third inning with another RBI ground out to extend the Cardinal advantage to 3-0.
Rohaley worked around a pair of two-out errors in the third inning to keep the Cardinals ahead 3-2 and pitched out of a jam in the sixth to preserve the win. WVWC put runners on second and third with two outs, but Rohaley forced a ground out to end the threat. Rohaley retired the Bobcats in order in the seventh to secure the win.
Senior
Adam Dennison (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and junior
Zach Blumling (Granville, Ohio/Granville) each chipped in two hits to pace the offense for the Cardinals.
Wheeling Jesuit is back on the diamond tomorrow, Sunday, March 24 when they travel to Glenville State for another MEC doubleheader. Due to other events at Glenville State, there will NOT be any live coverage of the games. First-pitch is set for 1 p.m.
