Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Baseball team's (13-8, 4-4) opening weekend came to an end on Monday when the team hosted Davis & Elkins at the I-470 J.B. Chambers Complex. The Cardinals would add another walk-off win to the weekend and earned their second straight sweep as they evened their conference record at 4-4. The Cardinals handedly took game one 11-3 and came back for a thrilling walk-off effort in the second game to take a 2-1 win in the bottom of the seventh.

Game One: Wheeling 11, Davis & Elkins 3

The first game of the day saw the Cardinals offense succeed throughout the night, and it began right away in the bottom of the first. After starting pitcher Kenny Jinks threw a scoreless first, Christian Boyles got the bottom half of the inning started with a single. Kobe Hill would add a double to move runners to second and third before a groundout to the pitcher served as the first out of the inning. Braeden Killens would start his monster day with an RBI single to bring home Boyles and the Cardinals would go up 1-0 after one. Jinks got into some trouble in the second, allowing a few batters to reach before retiring the side 1-2-3 in the top of the third to keep it a 1-0 Cardinal lead heading into the bottom of the third.

A Hill bunt would start the inning before walks to Spencer Craig and Killens loaded the bases with nobody out. Thomas Kegerreis would get the Cardinals back on the board with a bases loaded walk and the Cardinals had a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals would not push across another run in the inning, but were right back at it in the bottom of the fourth. After a groundout to start the fourth, Boyles lifted a solo home run to left center to make it a 3-0 game. Hill singled and Craig reached on a Fielder's Choice to put runners at second and third with one out. A wild pitch would bring home the first run of the inning before Killens lined an RBI triple to right center field and the Cardinals extended their lead to 5-0. Kegerreis singled Killens home and, after a pop out, Aidan Willard hit a two-run home run to make it an 8-0 Cardinals lead after four.

Davis & Elkins would get to Jinks for the first time in the game in the top of the fifth when they put up a pair of runs to make it an 8-2 games. However, in the bottom half of the inning, a pair of walks would put two on base for Killens. He came through once again, lifting a three-run home run to left-center to give Wheeling an 11-2 lead. Jinks would throw one more scoreless inning in the sixth to bring his day to an end as he turned in another solid start. The right-hander went 6.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out seven. The Cardinals were held off the board in the bottom half of the inning before Malkolm Barrett came out to finish the game. He allowed one run in the top of the seventh on one hit while striking out two to earn Wheeling the 11-3 win.

It was a big day for Braeden Killens, who reached base in all three of his plate appearances. He finished 2-2 with a walk, home run, and five RBI to drive in nearly half of his team's offense. Thomas Kegerreis and Aidan Willard were the other Cardinals to drive in multiple runs on the day, with Kegerreis going 2-3 with two RBI and Willard going 1-4 with a home run and two RBI. Wheeling would look to finish out the sweep as they head to Game two.

Game Two: Wheeling 2, Davis & Elkins 1

While the Cardinal's offense controlled game one, it was the starting pitching that led the way for the Cardinals in game two. Dominic Parker-McDonald got the start for Wheeling and put together his best start of the season so far. He worked his way around three singles over the first three innings of play and held the Senators at bay. Meanwhile, Senators starting pitcher Jake Spearen was having just as impressive of a showing, allowing just one hit and three base runners through the first three innings. The Cardinals would break through for the game's first run as Braeden Killens lifted a solo home run to start the inning and the Cardinals would lead 1-0 after four innings of play.

That would be enough support for Parker-McDonald, who finished the day by retiring the final six batters that he faced. Parker-McDonald ended his night throwing 5.0 innings allowing four hits while striking out two batters. Hunter Dyck would come in for the sixth inning and threw a 1-2-3 effort of his own to keep it a 1-0 game. The Cardinals did not add on in the bottom of the sixth and Dyck looked to finish out the game in the top of the seventh. However, Davis & Elkins would break through with a run in the top of the seventh and it sent the game to the bottom of the seventh with the game tied at 1-1 and the Cardinals looking for their second walk-off win of the season.

After a strikeout to start the inning, Jacob Murray would get things going with a one-out single to put a runner on. In stepped Braeden Killens, who drove in the game's only run to that point and had six RBI already. He would come through one final time on the afternoon, lining an RBI double to right scoring Murray and giving Wheeling the 2-1 victory. It was the second walk-off victory of the season and capped off a big weekend for the Cardinals on the diamond.

Braeden Killens would once again account for most of his team's offense, accounting for both runs in the win. He finished 2-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI to round out his big day. Killens fi no ishes with seven RBI between the two games and now is the team leader with 19 RBI. Lucas Rawlins got one step closer to the 100 hit mark, going 1-3 on the day and sitting three hits away from the milestone. Christian Boyles, Spencer Craig, and Jacob Murray would come away with the game's final three hits of the game.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, April 1st, when they hit the road to face Concord at 1 PM.