Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last two games, the Wheeling University Baseball team (1-7, 0-0) opened Atlantic Region play when they faced off with California University of Pennsylvania. They are now set up to play the final game of that three-game series on Tuesday, March 1st, when they face the Vulcans at 1 PM. The Cardinals have dropped each of the first two games of the series to this point, and are looking to rebound in the final game of the series.
Game one, which was played back on Friday, saw the Cardinal fall to the Vulcans 14-1 while they pounded out eight hits. A home run by Riley Cameron accounted for the only offense of the day as Wheeling failed to fight back after falling behind early. In game two on Sunday, the Cardinals and Vulcans were locked in a 1-1 tie thanks to a home run by Jacob Murray. However, the Vulcans jumped on the Cardinals pitching late, scoring six runs in the final three innings and Wheeling took their second loss of the series 7-1.
One Cardinal who has been thriving in the series has been junior catcher Riley Cameron, who accounted for his team's only run in the opener. In the first two games of the series, Cameron has gone 5-6 (.833) with a home run, two walks, and an RBI. After not getting a hit in the previous series against Chowan, Cameron has come back and raised his average to a team-best .348 mark through the first eight games of the season. Along with getting some big hits, Cameron leads the team in walks (11) and has reached base in just over half of his plate appearances this season.
Jacob Murray provided the other big hit for the Cardinals, also a home run, and so far against CAL-U has gone 1-3 with that home run and an RBI. Senior Blake Vandiver played in the first game of the series back on Wednesday and went 1-2 with a double in the game. Vandiver has been a strong presence at the top of the Cardinals lineup and has himself a five-game hitting streak heading into Tuesday's action. The Cardinals are looking to break through in the series finale and pick up their first regional win of the 2022 season.
As the Cardinals continue through Regional play, the start of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play creeps closer and closer on the schedule. The MEC Conference opener is scheduled for Saturday, March 19th, when the Cardinals welcome in Concord and then host Glenville State the following day. The Cardinals are looking to defend their 2021 MEC North Division Championship and getting some momentum in these final non-conference games will be key to getting their run to the MEC playoffs started on the right foot.
The Details
First pitch for Tuesday afternoon's game is scheduled for 1 PM at Wild Things Park. You can follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
