Wheeling, W. Va. – The race for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoffs is coming down to the final two weeks of the regular season. The Wheeling University Baseball team is battling for a playoff spot as they hosted Alderson Broaddus on Saturday at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. They would end up splitting the day as they dropped the first game 6-5 before bouncing back to win game two 7-1 to end the day on a high note.

Game One: Alderson Broaddus 6, Wheeling 5

The first game of the day was a back and forth affair between the two teams, with the Cardinals getting things started early. After both teams were shutout in the first, and starting pitcher Hayden Scudder threw up a zero in the second, the Cardinals went to work with a leadoff walk from J.R. Heavilin. Chris Iazzetta was up next and wasted no time getting Heavilin home with a two-run home run to left-center that put Wheeling in the driver's seat 2-0. It was Iazzetta's sixth home run of the season and his first since March 11th against IUP.

Wheeling was right back at it in the bottom of the third after Blake Vandiver was hit with a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Riley Cameron would loft a ball into center field allowing Vandiver to score and pushing Wheeling's lead to 3-0 after three. After back-to-back strikeouts, Jacob Murray kept the inning alive reaching on an error and the Cardinals would take advantage as Cameron came home to score on a wild pitch. A strikeout ended the inning, but after three Wheeling was sitting on a 4-0 lead in the first game of a big four-game series.

However, the Battlers weren't about to lay down and they got to the Cardinals with a four-spot in the top of the fourth that tied the game at 4-4. There were four singles that drove in the inning's runs and the Cardinals were looking to battle back. In the top of the fifth, the Battlers would take their first lead of the day when designated hitter Alex Perez lifted a two-run home run to left-center field that made it a 6-4 Battlers advantage. That would end Scudder's night as he finished 5.0 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits while walking two and striking out six.

It was the Cardinals turn to rally and they got one of those two runs back in the bottom of the fifth after Vandiver once again started things with a single. He would get to second on a flyout before a groundout moved him to third with one out. Murray would then step up and come through with an infield single that brought home Vandiver and made it a 6-5 game. The score would remain 6-5 heading into bottom of the seventh and once again Vandiver would start things off, this time with a single to left. He would move up to third with two outs, but the Cardinals couldn't push him across and fell 6-5.

Chris Iazzetta led the Cardinals offense going 1-4 with a home run and two RBI while Blake Vandiver came through with the only multi-hit game going 2-3 with two runs scored. Jacob Murray and Riley Cameron each picked up one hit and drove in a run to complete the Cardinals scoring. Wheeling would look for the bounce back in game two of the day.

Game Two: Wheeling 7, Alderson Broaddus 1

The second game of the day was all about starting pitching as Logan Pillars took center stage on the mound. He twirled his first career complete game in the effort as he brought the Cardinals conference record back to even at 13-13. Pillars got charged with one run early, but after that he threw up six straight zeroes to close out the game. He scattered just three hits in those seven innings while walking four and striking out six batters. Pillars has had some strong outings throughout the year, but today was one of the best starts of his collegiate career. He gave up that run early in the first, but was picked up quickly by his team in the bottom half of the inning.

After a quick out in the firs, Blake Vandiver reached on a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch that gave Wheeling a runner in scoring position with one out. After a flyout, J.R. Heavilin drew a walk and Garth Charlton was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Chris Iazzetta would then line a two RBI single to center, but was thrown out at second to end the inning. Even so, the Cardinals led 2-1 after one and got on the board again in the bottom of the fourth. After a quick out, Jack Skantze singled and was still at first with two outs. Connor Watt picked up an infield single  and Blake Vandiver scored Skantze with an RBI single.  A wild pitch allowed Watt to come home and score and Wheeling extended their lead to 4-1.

Wheeling continued to look for insurance as they headed into the bottom of the sixth with the score remaining 4-1.  The Cardinals would not record a hit in the inning, but did manage to get on the board for three more runs.  After an out, Anthony May  walked and Connor Watt was hit by a pitch before  Blake Vandiver walked to load the bases. Riley Cameron would follow and was hit by a pitch to bring home the first run of the inning.  J.R. Heavilin followed with a walk of his own to make it 6-1 and two batters later, Chris Iazzetta would be hit with a pitch to make it a 7-1 game. That was more than enough help for Pillars as he retired the side in order in the seventh and earned the win as his team held on 7-1.

 Chris Iazzetta was the top performer on offense for the Cardinals going 1-3 with three RBI on the day. Garth Charlton and Jack Skantze each picked up two hits, each going 2-3 in the game, and Riley Cameron, Blake Vandiver, and J.R. Heavilin each drove in runs in the game. The Cardinals now look to win the series in Monday and keep pace with the rest of the teams in the playoff race.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Monday, May 2nd, when they host Alderson Broaddus for games three and four at 1 PM.