Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the last three games, the Wheeling University Baseball team's (13-9, 3-5) offense has been the driving force, scoring 31 runs over their last three games. They look to carry that momentum with them into the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Easter weekend as they round out play against the MEC South Division. They kick things off on Friday, when they host Concord on Friday, March 29th, and follow it up against Glenville State on Saturday, March 30th, with Friday's doubleheader starting at 2 PM and Saturday's starting at 1 PM.

Last time out, the Cardinals took on Ohio Dominican University in the second meeting between the two teams this season. After two early runs from the Panthers, the Cardinal bullpen was able to shut things down over the final seven innings. A team of five pitchers allowed just one unearned run as the Cardinal offense began to storm back. It started with a run in the top of the fourth before the Cardinals took their first lead of the day with a three-spot in the top of the fifth. A pair of early home runs led the effort and the Cardinals would score at least one run in each of the final six innings of play. It would be the second time in the last three games that the Cardinals eclipsed the double digit run mark as they went on to win by the final score of 12-3.

The Cardinals bullpen was the star of the day as they allowed just one unearned run over seven innings of work. Dominic Parker-McDonald led the way, throwing 2.0 innings of work allowing two hits while walking one and striking out three. Derrick Goutremout would also throw 2.0 innings on the day, allowing the lone unearned run on one hit while striking out one. The final two innings from the bullpen came from Noah Zenkewich and Carson Ashby. Ashby delivered the lone 1-2-3 inning of the day, getting two groundouts and a strikeout in the final inning, while Zenkewich allowed one hit, a walk, and two strikeouts. The Cardinals are going to look for strong contributions from the bullpen down the stretch and they proved how good they can be Wednesday.

The offense was led by infielder Braden Killens, who finished 2-5 with a home run and four RBI in the effort. Killens has now driven in six RBI over his past five games and leads the Cardinals with six home runs and 28 RBI. Killens has not only been one of the top run producers for the Cardinals this season, but for the entire MEC. Killens enters play on Friday as the MEC's leader in RBI this season with 33 and sits second in the conference with his six home runs. Kaleb Scull would also have a multi-RBI game, finishing 1-2 with a run scored and two RBI. He delivered one of the two Cardinal home runs on the day, hitting a two-run shot in the top of the fifth. He now has two straight games with a home run and has driven in five RBI over his past two games.

As they enter the third weekend of MEC play, the Cardinals have propelled themselves up the MEC North Division standings. After going 0-4 on the first weekend, Wheeling came back with a 3-1 weekend against West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins and jumped two spots in the standings. They now sit third in the division, sitting one game behind West Liberty and three games behind Frostburg State for the Division lead. Wheeling looks to pick up another weekend win this weekend as they set themselves up for the MEC Tournament run against the North Division the rest of the way. The Cardinals once again have the goal of making the MEC and NCAA Regional tournaments and look to string together wins to do just that.

The Matchups

Concord: The Cardinals and Mountain Lions are meeting for the 34th and 35th times in program history, with Concord leading the all-time series at 25-8. However, the Cardinals have faired better at home in the all-time series, going 3-9 at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex, compared to a 4-12 mark when on the road. The Mountain Lions have won each of the past four meetings between the two teams as Wheeling looks to get back in the win column. In their last meeting, the Cardinals and Mountain Lions met in a first round MEC Tournament game, with Concord winning 4-3 to take all three games against the Cardinals during the year. Leading the way for Wheeling was Spencer Craig, who finished 1-3 with an RBI, while Braden Killens added a 1-5 day with an RBI.

Glenville State: The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the 29th and 30th time in program history on Saturday, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series at 17-11. When they play at home, the Cardinals hold an 8-6 advantage in 14 previous games while they go 7-5 in road games. This will be the third and fourth meeting of the season series between the two teams after the Cardinals took the first two games in the non-conference portion of the schedule. In their most recent meeting, the offense led the way as Wheeling picked up a 16-11 victory in Wilson, North Carolina. In their most recent meeting, the Cardinals swept the non-conference series earlier this season with wins of 8-1 and 16-11. Braden Killens and Aidan Willard would lead the way with three RBI each in the second game.

The Details

The MEC Easter weekend kicks off on Friday, March 29th, when the Cardinals host Concord with first pitch at 2 PM. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.