Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Wilson, NC. - The Wheeling University Baseball team (7-3, 0-0) took the trip to warmer weather over the weekend as they played the final non-conference weekend before Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. They kicked things off with doubleheader action, and earned a sweep of day one led by a strong pitching performance. Wheeling would take on Clarion in game one and picked up a 7-1 victory before coming back in the night cap to defeat Glenville State by an 8-1 score.

Game 1: Wheeling 7, Clarion 1

As the Cardinals made their return to Atlantic Regional play, the offense would get them going right away in game one. Aidan Willard would get things started with a single and Christian Boyles followed with a single of his own to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Braden Killens would follow with a walk to load the bases and  Spencer Craig would then step in and lifted a sacrifice fly that brought home Willard and gave Wheeling a 1-0 lead. Scott Kondroik would then step in and got his big day started with a two RBI single that brought home Killens and Boyles and the Cardinals were staked to a 3-0 lead after a half inning of play.

Kody McCarley would open up the weekend on the mound and those three runs were more than enough support for the Cardinal right-hander. He would go on to throw 7.1 innings of one run ball, allowing eight hits while walking three and striking out four. Of those seven innings, four of those were of the 1-2-3 variety as he threw up seven straight zeros to start the game. His only allowed run would come in his final inning as he wrapped up what was a third straight quality start. Over his first four outings of the season, McCarley has allowed three earned runs or less every time out and has turned in three quality starts this season. His ERA sits at 2.75 over 22.1 innings of work as he looks to continue to be the ace of the Cardinal staff.

As McCarley was throwing up zeros, the Cardinal offense was battling to give him run support throughout the game. Wheeling got back on the board in the top of the third inning when Kondroik stepped in and lifted a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded for his third RBI of the day to make it a 4-0 advantage. In the top of the fifth, the Cardinals tacked on two more runs as Kaleb Skull reached on a one-out single and Nic Ancelet followed with a single of his own to put two on and one out. Sammy Kondroik would then step in and laid down a sacrifice bunt to move runners into scoring position. However, the pitcher would boot the ball and Scull came around from third to make it a 5-0 Cardinal lead. Willard would come up with runners on second and third and lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home the runner and Wheeling went up 6-0.

The final Cardinal run of the day would come in the top of the 7th after Scull once again reached on a one-out single. Ancelet followed with a walk and Scull stole third to put runners at the corners with one out. Sammy Kondroik would lift a sacrifice fly to bring home Scull and the Cardinals held a 7-0 lead. After Clarion got on the board in the seventh, the Cardinals bullpen locked things down as Noah Zenkewich and Josh Wessler locked it down over the final 1.2 innings. Zenkewich would take over for McCarley in the bottom of the seventh and retired all three batters, striking out two. Wessler threw the final 0.2 innnings of work, walking a batter and getting the final out.

The Cardinal's offense was led by Scott Kondroik, who finished 2-3 with three RBI on the day as he continues his strong start to the 2024 campaign. Kaleb Scull would also add two hits, finishing 2-4 with two runs scored and Christian Boyles would round out the multi-hit efforts, finishing 2-5 with two runs scored. Aidan Willard would get the final Cardinal hit, going 1-4 with an RBI while Sammy Kondroik would drive in the other run on the day. The Cardinals were set for an MEC preview in the nightcap, as they battled Glenville State.

Game 2: Wheeling 8, Glenville State 1

In the second game of the day, the Cardinals got a MEC preview as they battled Glenville State in non-conference action. It would be the first of two games against the Pioneers this weekend, and once again starting pitching led the way. It would be Wes Landis who got the ball in the second game of the day and he turned in his best start of the 2024 season so far. He would throw 5.1 innings of work, allowing one earned run on the day. It was his best start since he allowed two earned over three innings against Dillard as he picked up his first win of the 2024 season. The pitching would continue to lead the way as the bullpen picked up 4.0 scoreless to finish out the night.

Hunter Dyck was first out, and set a new season high, working 2.2 innings in relief to keep the Cardinals in front. He would finish with a season-best three strikeouts on the day before giving way to Sebastian Khan for the final 1.1. Khan was able to finish things out for the Cardinals, holding Glenville State off the board as he had his strikeout pitch working. He would retire all four batters he faced on strikes as he closed out the game for the third time this season. The Cardinal's offensive success was highlighted by  another strong performance from Scott Kondroik. He hit his fourth home run of the sesson and added two RBI on the day. Aidan Willard would round out the day, going 3-5 with three RBi as the Cardinal's picked up their second doubleheader sweep of the year.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to s action on Saturday, March 9th, with first pitch at 11 AM.