Wheeling, W. Va. - It has been a rough couple of weather days for the Wheeling University Baseball team (12-19, 8-8) as they have had several schedule changes over the last week. After an unexpected off day on Tuesday due to rain, the team is back out on the field Wednesday afternoon when they host Clarion at 3 PM. It will be the third opponent that Wheeling has faced from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) this season as they look to up their standing in the Atlantic Region.

The Cardinals were on the road in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Sunday and Monday when they played a four-game set with the Fairmont State Falcons. Day one of competition went into the wee hours of the morning as Wheeling earned a split with Fairmont State. After falling 2-1 in walk-off fashion in game one, the Cardinals bounced back and held on to win 5-4 in the second game. However, day two went to the Falcons as Wheeling fell by scores of 6-2 and 12-4. Wheeling would end the weekend 1-3 in MEC North Division play and 8-8 overall in MEC play.

In the game that Wheeling did win, they got another fantastic outing from starting pitcher Hayden Scudder. Although he did not carry a no-hitter in this game, he still threw five solid innings of work giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out a career-high 10 batters. He retired the game's first four batters before giving up a hit and had his slider working throughout the afternoon. He struck out the side in the fourth and only allowed more than one runner on base one time in the game. He has allowed just one earned run, two total, over his last three starts and continues to help the Cardinals starting rotation.

On the offensive side of the ball, it was the top of the Cardinals lineup that fueled the win as the 1, 2, and 3 hitters each had RBI in the game. Jack Skantze went 1-3 with an RBI and two runs scored from the leadoff and Blake Vandiver added a 2-4 day with an RBI in the two hole. Riley Cameron rounded out the offensive attack, going 1-3 with the team's only home run of the day. He now has six on the season and is tied with teammate Jacob Murray for the team lead in home runs.

While the main focus for the Cardinals right now is their standing in the MEC North Division, these regional games still loom large for the Cardinals. As they chase down a spot in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament, they need to rack up as many regional wins as they can to up their standing. The Cardinals have two more non-conference contests against PSAC opponents after this game concludes as they try to rack up as many wins as possible. They hope that they can use their homefield to their advantage and earn a victory to get them back on track.

The Matchup