Wheeling, W. Va. – After opening Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Play with a 2-2 start, the Wheeling University Baseball team (16-15, 7-9) hit the road for another mid-week non-conference matchup. Wheeling will head to Clarion, Pennsylvania to take on Clarion University with first pitch scheduled for 3 PM. The Cardinals played a pair of extra innings games on Sunday and are looking to get this one done in regulation.

Last time out, the Cardinals played a four-game set with MEC North for Notre Dame College and went 2-2 in the four games. The first day of the series came on Friday when the two teams met in a Good Friday matchup. The first game was a back and forth battle between the two teams, with the lead changing hands several times. With things tied at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh, the Cardinals came through with their fourth walk-off win of the season to open the weekend strong. A dominant complete game effort in game two was enough to lead Wheeling to the sweep as they looked for a duplicate effort on day two. However, the offenses led the way and the Flacons outslugged the Cardinals to a pair of wins that brought Wheeling's record to 2-2 for the weekend.

Throughout the 2023 season, the Cardinals have gotten strong efforts from their starting pitchers and that continued this weekend. Dominic Parker-McDonald entered the week having thrown 4.0 consecutive scoreless innings and he pushed that streak to 10.0 straight scoreless innings before it was broken. He threw his first complete-game effort of the season against Notre Dame College in game two, allowing one run on nine hits while walking one and striking out five. He has allowed just one earned run over his last 13.0 innings of work and he looks to continue that success. Despite getting the loss in game one on Saturday, Hunter Dyck has been one of the top Cardinal relievers, allowing three earned runs in 19.1 innings. He leads the Cardinals with three saves and looks to continue being a leader in the bullpen.

On the offensive side, it was a milestone weekend for first baseman Lucas Rawlins. Rawlins entered the weekend needing just one hit to reach the 100 Hit milestone for his career. He did that and much more in the weekend finale, going 3-5 with an RBI in the team's 14-11 loss to the Flacons. His 100th hit came in the second inning of that game as he became the 10th player in program history to reach the milestone. The fourth walk-off win of the season for the Cardinals came courtesy of Thomas Kegerreis in game one of the weekend set. He was 1-3 entering the bottom of the seventh and stepped in with runners at first and second and came through with an RBI single to give Wheeling a big 7-6 win to start the series.

The Cardinals will finish the regular season with a mid-week contest in each of their final four weeks of the regular season. Each of the next three mid-week games will come against opponents from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) starting with this week's game against Clarion. They come back with home contests against IUP and Seton Hill in each of the next two weeks as they look for big in-region wins. With making the NCAA Regional Tournament still one of the top goals for Head Coach Ryan Lewicki and his team this season, these non-conference competitions are just as crucial as their conference slate and they look to get some momentum on their side before a big weekend with Frostburg State.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Golden Eagles are meeting for the third time in program history, with the all-time series tied at 1-1. This will be the first time that the two teams have met in Clarion, PA., with the Cardinals sitting at 0-1 at home and 1-0 in neutral site play against the Golden Eagles. The Cardinals are averaging 9.85 runs per game in the first two games of the series and have not scored less than nine runs in any of the two games.

Their last meeting came during the 2022 season when Clarion came into the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex and beat Wheeling 12-9. It was a big game for former Cardinal Riley Cameron, who finished 2-2 with a home run and three RBI. Kobe Hill added a three hit game to the effort, going 3-5 with an RBI in the game. 

The Details

First pitch for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 3 PM at the Memorial Stadium Complex in Clarion, PA. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.