South Euclid, OH. – Coming into their weekend series with Notre Dame College, the Wheeling University Baseball team knew they had some work to do to get back in the MEC Playoff picture. They took the first steps towards doing that on Sunday when they swept their doubleheader covering the final two games of the four game series. Offense was prevelant in both games, with the Cardinals winning game one 11-9 and following it up with a 9-5 win in game two.

Game One: Wheeling 11, Notre Dame College 9

After the team combined to score 17 runs in their Saturday, doubleheader, the offense got going right away again for Wheeling as they scored eight runs in the first three innings. Connor Watt began things with a walk before Blake Vandiver was hit by a pitch and both runners moved to scoring position on a wild pitch. Riley Cameron then came through with an RBI single scoring Watt and giving Wheeling a 1-0 lead. The scoring may have stopped their, but things were just getting started for the Cardinals in the game.  In the top of the second, Jack Skantze would triple with one out and the Cardinals were right back in action.

Anthony May would capitalize on the situation with an RBI double that extended Wheeling's lead to 2-0. That would start a hit parade for the Cardinals as with two outs Blake Vandiver lined an RBI double scoring May and Cameron hit an RBI triple to give Wheeling the 4-0 lead. Their biggest offensive outburst was still to come in the top of the third as they added four more runs to their total. Garth Charlton doubled to start things and two batters later, Lucas Rawlins doubled him home to make it 5-0. After a Jack Skantze single, Anthony May would plate two more with an RBI double and Wheeling saw their lead balloon to 7-0. With two outs, Watt and Vandiver each drew walks before an RBI single by Cameron made it an 8-0 affair.

With all that run support, starting pitcher Logan Pillars was able to pitch with a lead throughout the day. He cruised through the first four innings allowing just one run during that time while giving up four hits and two walks during that time. All four hits he allowed were singles and the Falcons we're not hitting the ball hard against the right-hander. Pillars kept it going until the top of the fifth, when Notre Dame finally broke through with a five run inning that made it an 11-6 game at that point. However, Pillars' offense had his back the half inning before, when they added on three runs to help maintain their lead and those three runs would end up making the difference in the game.

A Skantze double, May walk, and Watt single started the inning as the Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out. Vandiver lifted a sacrifice fly and Riley Cameron had an RBI groundout for the first two outs of the inning, but extended Wheeling's lead to 10-1. Chris Iazzetta would then be hit by a pitch, and stole second to put two in scoring position. Charlton would then walk to load the bases with two outs before a wild pitch brought home the third run of the inning. Wheeling led 11-1, but that would prove big after the five run bottom of the fifth. Notre Dame would inch closer and closer with four runs in the last two innings but could never overtake the Cardinals as they picked up an 11-9 win.

It was a big day for junior Riley Cameron in game one as he went 3-5 with four RBI and a triple in the game. Anthony May added a 2-3 day with two doubles and three RBI while Blake Vandiver went 1-1 with  a couple of walks and two RBI in the game.  Three Cardinals scored multi hit games on the day and eight of the nine Wheeling hitters got atleast one hit. With the game one win under their belts, Wheeling would be looking for the sweep in game two.

Game Two: Wheeling 9, Notre Dame College 5

Early offense was the key to the Cardinals success in game one, and that was once again the case in ge two of the day. The Cardinals scored all nine of their runs in the first three innings of the game. They got on the board in the first inning of the game once again and once again, Connor Watt got things started with a single. Blake Vandiver walked and the both stole a base, but an errant throw by the catcher allowed Watt to score and gave Wheeling a 1-0 lead. Vandiver moved to third on the play and th Cardinals were primed to add on with nobody out. However, he would be stranded at third and Cardinals starter Dominic Parker-McDonald came out with a lead on his side. Notre Dame would push a run across in the first, but the Cardinals offense sprang right back into action in the second.

Jacob Murray started the inning with a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Wheeling with nobody out. Watt would foul out before Vandiver lifted a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-1 Cardinals advantage. After a steal and a walk, Garth Charlton came to the plate and ripped a bases clearing double to left to take Wheeling's lead to 5-1. Another run for the Falcons made it 5-2 heading into the third, but Wheeling responded with another four run top of the third. The Cardinals had two of their first three hitters single to start the inning, but a pop-out kept the runners at the corners with two outs. Watt singles to make it a 6-2 game and Vandiver singled to reload the bases. Riley Cameron would then be hit by a pitch to bring home the team's seventh run and Charlton added two more RBI with a single to make it a 9-2 game.

Dominic Parker-McDonald was able to hold that lead, but was charged with one run in each of his five innings of work. He ended up lasting five innings in the game and gave up five runs, four earned, on 10 hits while walking two and striking out three. His offense was able to give him a big enough lead where the one run per inning didn't end up hurting him. The Cardinals would turn to the bullpen in the sixth as they called on Dan Matos to finish the game. He did just that, throwing two scoreless innings out of the bullpen allowing just one hit. Matos has been one of Wheeling's most reliable relievers down the stretch and helped Wheeling secure a much needed sweep.

 Garth Charlton led the way going 2-4 with five RBI and a double in the game as he set a new career high in RBI. He was one of two Cardinals to finish with multi-hit efforts as Connor Watt added a 2-5 day with an RBI. Blake Vandiver and Riley Cameron each added RBI on the day as Wheeling's 1-4 hitters all drove in atleast one run in the game. It was a big sweep for Wheeling andr represented the first steps towards making a run at the MEC Playoffs.

The Wheeling University Baseball team is back in action on Wednesday, April 27th, when they hit the road to face Seton Hill at 3 PM.