Wheeling, W. Va. - At the start of the season, the Wheeling University Baseball team (10-13, 6-2) played each of their first 15 games on the road. Now that they have come back home, they are building momentum and have won four games in a row. They stay home and look to stay hot this weekend when they host The University of Charleston in doubleheader action on Saturday, followed by a doubleheader against West Virginia State on Sunday with both doubleheaders beginning at 1 & 3 PM.
Wheeling is coming off their first weekend sweep of the season as they took both game against both West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins to improve their Mountain East Conference (MEC) record to 4-0. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, scoring 15 or more runs in three of the four games, and backed strong pitching performances from the starting rotation. They wrapped up the weekend on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Davis & Elkins and took both games by a combined score of 22-5 thanks to strong efforts on both sides of the ball.
Leading the way for the Cardinals on Tuesday was sophomore J.R. Heavilin, who drove in six RBI between the two games and went 6-8 at the plate. In game one, he went 3-5 with a double, home run, and three RBI as the Cardinals pounded the Senators 15-2. In game two, he followed that up with a perfect 3-3 game with a walk, another home run, a double, and three more RBI. The effort helped raise his batting average to a team-high .421 and tied him for second on the team with four home runs this season.
On the mound, the Cardinals got a pair of strong starts from senior Logan Pillars and junior Hayden Scudder. Pillars took the hill in game one and was working efficiently through the Senators order, allowing just one run and two hits over his 6.0 innings of work. He struck out a season-high six batters in the game and needed just under 90 pitches to get through the start. In the second game, Hayden Scudder got his first start of the season for the Cardinals and took advantage. He didn't allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth and allowed just two hits while not allowing a run over 5.0 innings of work. He was able to attack the strike zone throughout the afternoon, striking out a career-high six batters as he paved the way for the doubleheader sweep.
With one more week of MEC South Division play, the Cardinals are looking to rack up as many wins as they can before they face the heart of their MEC North Division Schedule. They currently sit at 6-2 through eight conference games and have climbed into a tie for second with Fairmont State, and currently sit one game back of Frostburg State for the top spot. However, the road doesn't get any easier as they get set to take on the top team in the MEC South in The University of Charleston before battling West Virginia State. It will be a challenge and the Cardinals are hoping to meet that challenge and keep their momentum going.
The Matchups
The University of Charleston: Saturday marks the 35th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and Golden Eagles and the 13th time that they will be meeting with Wheeling as the home team. The Cardinals hold an all-time record of 16-18 against Charleston and are looking for their first win against them since the 2018 season. Last year, Charleston took both games of the two teams' doubleheaders with wins of 12-3 and 2-0. Former Cardinal Luis Dominguez led the Wheeling effort in those two games, turning in back-to-back 1-3 performances at the plate with an RBI in each game.
West Virginia State: Sunday will be the 34th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and Yellow Jackets and just the fourth meeting between them at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. Overall, Wheeling has a record of 10-23 against the Yellow Jackets, but lately it has been the Cardinals who have had success winning three of the last four meetings between the two teams. Last season, they split their doubleheader with Wheeling winning the first game 5-4 before State battled back to win game two 6-3. Former Cardinal Bryen Kimbrough led the way with a 2-4 effort with two RBI in game one while Luis Dominguez went 1-3 with an RBI in the playoff game.
The Details
First Pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 PM at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
