Wheeling, W. Va. - As the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Baseball season heads into its final two weeks of play, the Wheeling University Baseball team (16-25, 12-12) is fighting for a spot in this year's tournament. They play their final weekend home series of the year when they battle Alderson Broaddus in a pair of doubleheaders beginning at 1 PM on both Saturday and Monday. The Cardinals are currently two games behind Notre Dame College for the final playoff spot and look to keep winning to climb the standings.
The Cardinals continued their season series against the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) on Wednesday when they hit the road to face the Griffins on Wednesday in what was an 11-3 loss. The Cardinals offense got things started early, taking a lead in the top of the second inning, but it didn't last long as the Griffins offense put up runs in the second and third before delivering the kill shot with a six-run bottom of the seventh inning. The Cardinals pushed across an extra run in the seventh, but that was all they could muster as they ended up falling 11-3. It moved the Cardinals to 1-7 against PSAC opponents this season as they turn their attention back towards conference play.
The Cardinals were led by infielder Jacob Murray, who finished with a 1-2 day with a walk and an RBI in the loss. Murray has been on fire at the plate as of late, tallying at least one hit in five of his last six games and has driven in three runs during that span. He has his season average up to .267 on the year and has been a consistent threat in the middle of the Cardinals order. Murray was one of two Cardinals on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-Region teams and has lived up to those expectations so far.
On the mound, Wheeling has seen the emergence of Hayden Scudder as one of the top pitchers not only for the Cardinals, but in the entire Mountain East Conference. Over his four starts in the month of April, Scudder has produced a 1.36 ERA and has gone 4-0 in those outings. He has only allowed three earned runs in conference play this season and will look to provide another strong start for his team this weekend. Pitching will be key to the Cardinals success this weekend and Scudder will be leading the way on the mound for his team.
With two more series to go, the Cardinals currently sit two games back of the Notre Dame Falcons for the final spot in the 2022 MEC playoffs. The Cardinals play four games this weekend against Alderson Broaddus and follow that up with a four-game home-and-home series with the West Liberty Hilltoppers. Meanwhile, the Falcons take on MEC North leading Frostburg State this weekend before playing their home-and-home series against Alderson Broaddus during the final week of the season. Wheeling will be looking for series wins in each of their last two doubleheaders as they try to get back to the playoffs.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Battlers will be meeting for the 24th time in team history, with the Cardinals going 5-18 during that stretch. They have identical 2-9 records against the Battlers at home and on the road and have gone just 4-19 against them since they joined the MEC. Wheeling has averaged 5.7 runs per game against the Battlers in those meetings. The two teams met earlier this season at Salem University in a game where both offenses came to play.
The Cardinals would be the ones to come out on top, winning the game 19-11 including a nine run top of the fifth that pushed Wheeling over the edge. Spenser Craig led the way going 1-3 with four RBI while Chris Iazzetta added a 2-3 day with a run scored and three RBI. The Cardinals offense will look for similar production numbers this time around against the Battlers as they look for a big home series win on the road to the MEC playoffs.
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 games live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
