Elkins, W. Va. – After a split of their doubleheader with West Virginia Wesleyan to start the weekend, the Wheeling University Baseball team (12-9, 3-4) were looking for a weekend win Monday as they traveled to Elkins, West Virginia. They did just that as they picked up their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) doubleheader sweep of the season as they took down Davis & Elkins. It was a come from behind effort in game one, as the Cardinals pulled out a late 10-5 win and game two saw the Cardinals continue their momentum with a 9-1 win.

Game One: Wheeling 10, Davis & Elkins 5

After dropping a heartbreaker at the end of the day on Sunday, the Cardinals came back and found themselves down once again in the bottom of the first of game one. Davis & Elkins would score four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-0 lead. Wes Landis would get the start for the Cardinals and after the first inning, was able to settle down, allowing just one run over the next four innings. He would finish his day throwing 4.2 innings of work allowing five runs, three earned, on eight hits while striking out four . The Cardinals would get on the board in the top of the third, as Aidan Willard was hit by a pitch. Christian Boyles would follow with a single, followed by a steal of second, and Braden Killens would draw a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Two batters later, Thomas Kegerreis stepped up and took advantage of a Senator error that brought home Willard and cut the Senator lead to 4-1. Spencer Craig would then pick up the same fate, reaching in an error that brought home Killens and the Cardinals cut the Senator lead in half at 4-2. Davis & Elkins responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-2, but the Cardinals came right back in the fourth. Dylan Maltby would start with a walk and moved up on a groundout. Willard would draw a walk and with two outs and two on Killens would step in. He lined an RBI single that brought home Maltby and made it a 5-3 game. The score would remain 5-3 for the next two innings and the Cardinals were down to their last at-bat of the day, needing two runs to stay alive.

The first two batters were retired in order as the Cardinals were down to their final out. Dylan Maltby would get things started with a single and Nic Ancelet would double him home to make it a 5-4 game. Willard was then hit by a pitch and both he an Ancelet moved to scoring position on a wild pitch. The Cardinals would then tie the game on a wild pitch as Ancelet scored to make it a 5-5 game. Boyles would step in and draw a walk and another wild pitch would give Wheeling the lead as Willard came home to make it 6-5. The Cardinals continued to take advantage of Senators pitching as Boyles went from first to home all on wild pitches and passed balls and the Cardinals were ahead 7-5. 

The big hit of the inning came from Jacob Lentz, who brought home two runs with an RBI single and a wild pitch would bring home the final run of the game to make it a 10-5 game. With the lead in hand, Jagger Iovinelli rounded out a strong day in relief, as he threw 2.1 scoreless innings while striking out two batters. Braden Killens would lead the way for the Cardinals, going 1-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jacob Lentz would be the lone Multi-RBI player for the Cardinals, going 1-2 with two RBI. Thomas Kegerreis, Spencer Craig, and Nic Ancelet would each drive in a run to round out the game. With the win, Wheeling would look for a sweep in game two .

Game Two: Wheeling 9, Davis & Elkins 1

In the second game of the weekend, the Cardinals would get their top pitching performance of the weekend. Kody McCarley got the start and allowed just one unearned run over 6.0 innings of work, while allowing one hit and striking out five. After McCarley retired the side in order in the bottom of the first, his offense got him some run support in the second. Thomas Kegerreis would reach on an error to start the inning and two batters later a single from Nic Ancelet moved runners to the corners with one out. Jacob Lentz would step in and drive home Kegerreis with an RBI single. It was the first of three straight RBI hits from the Cardinals as Tyler Livingston singled home Ancelet and Kaleb Scull would double home Lentz as the Cardinals built a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half.

The score would remain 3-0 until the top of the sixth as the Cardinal's offense got going again. Kegerreis would once again get things started with a walk and Dylan Maltby would reach on an error. Josh Rush would run for Kegerreis and Sammy Kondroik would run for Maltby before another error loaded the bases Livingston would step in two batters later and reached on an error that scored Rush to make it a 4-0 affair. Scull added a sacrifice fly that brought home Kondroik and the Cardinals held a 5-0 lead after five and a half innings. In the top of the seventh, the Cardinals would once again get the leadoff batter on as Scott Kondroik singled to start the inning. Rush would follow and lifted a two-run home run that made it a 7-0 Cardinal lead.

After some changes in the field by Davis & Elkins, Sammy Kondroik would step in and reach on an error. Nic Ancelet would follow with a triple and Kondroik came home to score to make it an 8-0 Cardinal lead. Two batters later, Livingston would step in and reached on an error to bring home the final Cardinal run of the game to make it a 9-0 lead. Davis & Elkins would get on the board in the bottom of the seventh, but Nicholas Martinez came on to finish things out. Martinez threw a scoreless inning of his own, allowing one hit and one strikeout as he closed out the 9-1 victory.

Tyler Livingston would lead the way for the Cardinals, setting a new career-high with three RBI while going 1-4 on the day. It was a big day for the Cardinal second baseman as he helped lead the team to their first sweep of the conference schedule. Josh Rush would add the lone Cardinal home run of the day, hitting a two run home run in the top of the sixth. Kaleb Scull would round out the day with a 1-4 effort, driving in two runs to round out the day.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Wednesday, March 27th, when they hit the road to face Ohio Dominican at 3 PM.