Wheeling, W. Va. - A week ago, the Cardinals and Ohio Dominican met at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex in a non-conference midweek matchup. One week later, the Cardinals and Panthers are at it again as the Wheeling University Baseball team (12-9, 3-5) heads to Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday to take on Ohio Dominican at 3 PM. The Cardinals will be looking for a split of the season series as they close out the non-conference portion of their March schedule.
Last time out, Wheeling Baseball picked up their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) sweep of the season as they took on Davis & Elkins College on Monday. In game one, the Senators jumped on the board early with a four-spot in the bottom of the first and held that lead until the top of the seventh. With two outs, the Cardinals trailed 5-3, but would rally to score seven runs in the top of the seventh as they went on to win 10-5. In game two, the Cardinal pitching would lead the way as Kody McCarley had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the seventh. Davis & Elkins would push across a run in the bottom of the seventh and the Cardinals would go on to win by the final score of 9-1.
For McCarley, it was a bounce back effort as he lowered his season ERA to 3.55 across eight games, six starts. McCarley's final line in the win was 6.0 innings allowing one unearned run on one hit while striking out five batters. It was the seventh time in eight appearances this season that he has allowed three earned runs or less and marked the fourth scoreless appearance for the senior. Jinks currently sits fourth in the MEC with his 3.55 ERA, while also sitting in the top 10 in strikeouts with 25. McCarley earned Second Team All-MEC honors a season ago and looks to bring home All-MEC honors once again during the 2024 season.
On the offensive side, it was a big day for seniors Jacob Lentz and Tyler Livingston who led the way in each game of the doubleheader. Lentz got the start at first base in game one and finished 1-2 with a pair of RBI on the day. He came through with one of the biggest hits of the day in the top of the seventh, when he lined a two-RBI single that opened things up and made it a 9-5 Cardinal lead. In game two, it was Tyler Livingston's turn to shine, driving in three runs across his four at-bats as he set a new career-high. He picked up an RBI single in the top of the second to make it a 2-0 Cardinal lead and added RBI in the 6th and 7th innings on a pair of errors by the Senators.
After getting their first weekend win in conference play, the Cardinals moved from fifth to third in the MEC North Division Standings and another strong performance this weekend could have them pushing for the top spot. They sit three games back of Frostburg State for the Division lead and just one game behind West Liberty for second. With one more weekend of MEC South play, the Cardinals are looking for another weekend win toset themselves up in a position to make a run in April. Wheeling is the only team in the North entering the weekend with a win and they look to continue pushing for the top spot in the Division.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Panthers are meeting for the eighth time in program history on Wednesday, and the second time during the 2024 season. Ohio Dominican leads the all-time series with a record of 4-3 as the team's play their first ever game on the road against the Panthers. The first five games of the series were all played at neutral sites, with the Cardinals averaging 4.0 runs per game across the all-time series.
Last Thursday, the Cardinals would fall to Ohio Dominican at the J.B. Chambers I-470 complex, with the Panthers picking up a 14-8 win. Wheeling was led by Carlos D'Amato, who finished 1-2 with a two-RBI double that would get the Cardinals to within one run of the Panthers. Kaleb Scull would add a 1-4 day with a home run and two RBI while Jacob Lentz added a 2-2 day at the plate to round it out.
The Details
First pitch for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 3 PM inside Frank Damian Field at Panther Valley on the campus of Ohio Dominican. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
