Frostburg, MD. – The race for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) North playoffs is on with four weeks left in the regular season. The Wheeling University Baseball team (18-15, 8-10) kicked off the run against the top team in the division, Frostburg State, on Friday and earned a split dropping game one 9-2 before coming back to win game two 14-11. It was a big day for sophomore Braden Killens, who drove in a combined 9 runs between the two games as he continues to be a force in the number three spot.

Game One: Frostburg State 9, Wheeling 2

In the first game of the day, it was the Bobcats that jumped on early and often. They started with a run in the bottom of the first and followed that with three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-0 lead after two innings of play. Starting pitcher Kody McCarlet threw up his first zero in the third inning and was looking for some run support. He would get his first runs of the game in the top of the fourth inning. Lucas Rawlins stepped in and continued his big week, hitting a solo home run to left to cut into the Frostburg Lead, making it 3-1. However, the next three batters were retired and two more runs in the bottom half of the inning pushed the Bobcats lead to 6-1 after four innings of play. Frostburg State kept coming with another run in the bottom of the fifth and the Cardinals trailed 7-1 after five.

They would get back on the board in the top of the sixth, when Braden Killens stepped in with one out. The Cardinals second run would come the same way as their first, with Killenss lifting a solo home run to make it a 7-2 game. The Bobcats tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Kody McCarley would finish out the complete game effort. McCarley threw 6.0 innings allowing nine runs, eight earned, on 11 hits while striking out five. It was McCarley's fifth complete game effort of the season, but it would end up in his fourth loss of the season. Wheeling would get a runner to scoring position in the top of the seventh, as Nic Ancelet reached on a walk and moved to third on a passed ball and a single by Garth Charlton, but that was as far as he got as the Cardinals fell 9-2.

The two Cardinals runs came in via home runs as Lucas Rawlins and Braden Killens each hit solo home runs. Killens led the day, going 2-3 with a home run and an RBI as he started what would be a big day. Rawlins added a 1-3 effort with a home run and the other Cardinals RBI. Wheeling would look to bounce back in game two and earn a split with the Bobcats.

Game Two: Wheeling 14, Frostburg State 11

After dropping game one, the Cardinals were trying to come back strong in game two, and their offense picked them up from the get go. Christian Boyles was hit by a pitch to start the inning and an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt allowed Pete Toula to each and advanced Boyles to third. Braden Killens would then step in and began his monster day with a two-RBI single to center that got things started and have the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. A pair of passed balls moved Killens to third and he would manufacture the next run, coming home on a wild pitch that made it a 3-0 game. Lucas Rawlins would then draw a walk before a foul out was the first out of the inning. Thomas Kegerreis would keep the party going with an RBI triple that scored Rawlins and gave Wheeling a 4-0 lead. Kegerreis was stranded at third but the Cardinals were in front for the first time on the day.

However, Frostburg State's offense was just as strong in the bottom half, putting up six runs and turning the game on its head. Starting pitcher Hayden Wilcox would be charged with five runs while retiring one batter before giving way to Kenny Jinks. Jinks gave up one more run before the inning was over and after one Frostburg State led 6-4. Two more Bobcat runs in the bottom of the second pushed their lead to 8-4 before the Cardinals got back on the board. After the first two outs of the top of the third, Scott Kondroik would get on with a two-out single and Kegerreis came through again with an RBI double that made it an 8-5 game. In the top of the fourth, Carlos D'Amato started things with a walk and, after the first out of the inning, Boyles singled to set Wheeling up with runners at first and second with one out.

A groundout by Toula moved runners to second and third with two outs before Killens came through again with a two RBI single that made it an 8-7 game after three and a half innings. The bottom of the third saw Frostburg State put two more runs on the board as the teams combined to score 17 runs over the first four innings of play. The top of the fifth would be the Cardinal's biggest inning of the day, as they put a six-spot up to take their first lead of the day. Back-to-back singles would lead off the inning and, after a passed ball, a walk would load the bases with nobody out. A strikeout would serve as the first out of the inning before an error allowed Kobe Hill to reach and brought home the first run of the inning to make it a 10-8 game. Christian Boyles would then single to move runners station to station and bring the game to 10-9.

After a strikeout would serve as the second out of the inning, Braden Killens stepped in with the bases loaded and four RBI on the day. He would immediately double that total, lifting a grand slam center field and giving the Cardinals a 13-10 lead. It was Killen's second home run of the day combined between the two games and gave the Cardinals their first lead of the day. Frostburg State got another run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Cardinals would be staked to a 13-11 lead after five. With that lead in hand, Manager Ryan Lewicki went to his two backend guys with Kyle Dalton and Hunter Dyck handling the sixth and seventh. Both came through with a scoreless innings and an error allowed one more Cardinals run to score as they walked away with a 14-11 win.

Braden Killens led the way, going  3-5 with a home run, and eight RBI in the contest. The eight RBI were a career high for the sophomore and was the most runs driven in in a game this season for Wheeling. Christian Boyles also had a big day at the top of the lineup, going 3-4 with four runs scored and an RBI and Thomas Kegerreis added a 3-4 day with a double, a triple, and two RBI. With a split of day one, Wheeling keeps their hopes alive for a series win as they head into the final two games of the series.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Sunday, April 16th, when they play the final two games of the series beginning at 1 PM.