Wheeling, W. Va. – On Sunday, the Wheeling University Baseball team (9-6, 0-2) was supposed to wrap up their Mountain East Conference (MEC) opening weekend, but frigid temperatures postponed the games. On Monday, the Cardinals will make up those two games as they play West Virginia State in doubleheader action beginning at 1 PM. The Cardinals are looking to bounce back from a pair of losses on Saturday as they try to get their first conference win under their belt.

They opened the MEC schedule on Saturday when they took on the University of Charleston in doubleheader action. In game one, both pitching staffs were strong early and the Cardinals took advantage, taking a 2-0 lead after the second. However, five runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings were enough to sink the Cardinals as they fell 5-4 to open the weekend. They came back in game two and, after both offenses got on the board early, the pitching staffs took over. The Cardinals got their third complete-game effort of the season, but it wasn't enough as they fell 3-1. The Cardinals and Golden Eagles were both ranked in the weekly National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) as Wheeling looks to rebound during this makeup game.

Leading that pitching staff was Kody McCarley, who threw his third straight complete game in the second game of the doubleheader. While his 15.0 straight scoreless innings steak was snapped, McCarley did allow two earned runs or less for the fifth straight start this season. Two of his three runs allowed came in the first inning and, after inning number four he allowed just one hit and three bases runners. Johendry Colmenares got the game one start and had the opposite type of outing. He allowed just three base runners through the first three innings before getting tacked on for a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth as he finished his day. The starting pitching staff is stepping up to lead this year's team and the Cardinals got two strong outings to start the weekend.

On the offensive side, senior Anthony May showed off his versatility, and benefitted with a strong weekend at the plate. The senior caught the first 4.1 innings of game one, catching Colmenares's start, and went 1-3 at the plate. Then, in game two, he went to his normal position at second base and had the better of the two games, going 2-3 at the plate. He raised his season average to .276 with the effort and has been a strong presence in the bottom half of the order for this year's team. Spencer Craig continued his strong start to the season, hitting his second home run of the year in game one. He is hitting .306 this season with two home runs and seven RBI, setting career highs in home runs and RBI through his first 11 games of the season.

As the Cardinals wrap up their MEC opening weekend, they are looking for at least a split of their second doubleheader against West Virginia State. Several teams in the MEC North have also played their first doubleheader of the season and West Liberty and Fairmont State lead the division wirhA 1-1 record. The Cardinals are looking to win at least one of the two games against State to keep pace with the pack. The Cardinals were the #9 team in the weekly NCBWA Atlantic Regional Poll and are looking to remain in the top 10 as they chase down their ultimate goal of getting back to the NCAA Tournament. First, they have to get through a tough MEC schedule, and this weekend will go a long way to getting them out to a fast start.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets are meeting for the 36th and 37th times in program history, with West Virginia State leading the all-time series with a record of 11-24. Wheeling is just 8-20 on the road against West Virginia State and is looking to up their status this year. The Cardinals are averaging 4.06 runs per game in the All-Time series and went 1-1 in their two meetings last season.

The Yellow Jackets would take game one of that series 6-2 before the Cardinals came back with a 3-1 win in game two. Former Cardinal Jack Skantze led the way in game one, going 1-4 with two RBI, while former Cardinal Logan Pillars allowed five earned run over seven innings. Former Cardinal Hayden Scudder started the second game and allowed just one earned run over six innings of work. Jacoburray led the offense going 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. 

The Details