Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Baseball team (19-17, 9-11) ended their series against Frostburg State last weekend with a win as they took one of three against the Bobcats. The Cardinals look to carry their momentum from that final game of the series on the road as they travel to face Fairmont State on Saturday and Sunday at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia. Wheeling currently sits behind the Falcons as the #3 team in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division and a winning weekend would help propel them back to #2.

Last time out, the Cardinals would compete in their mid-week game against Walsh as they made up a game from earlier in the season. The Cardinals continued their string of strong starting pitching despite the bullpen day. Carson Ashby got the start and was able to throw 3.0 scoreless, hitless innings to get the day started. However, Walsh found their offense in the middle innings, putting up eight runs between the fifth and sixth innings. Wheeling would battle throughout the night, having at least one runner on in six of the nine innings. The bullpen would also finish the game strong, not allowing a run over the final three innings of play. However, I t wouldn't be enough as the Cardinals fell to the Cavaliers 8-0 in their makeup game.

Carson Ashby made his second start of the season for the Cardinals and continued the team's strong stretch of starting pitching. Ashby finished his day throwing 3.0 scoreless and hitless innings while allowing two walks and striking out four. It has been a continuation of a strong stretch for Ashby, as he has allowed one earned run or less in each of his last four outings, including two previous starts. During that stretch, he has pitched to a 1.29 ERA over 7.0 innings of work. The Cardinals have seen strong outings from their starters over each of their last five games, allowing three earned runs or less in each of those five starts.  During that span, the starters have an ERA of 1.63 and have set the Cardinals offense up for success. With big series coming up in North Division play, the pitching staff will continue to be a leader for the team down the stretch as they loo for quality starts.

On the offensive side, it was Riley Day who took advantage of his opportunities, with a 2-3 day as the Designated Hitter. Day has come through with some big performances throughout the season, with one of the biggest being a walk-off single in the game against Concord. Day has had a strong season coming off the bench, hitting .417 over 18 games, eight started covering 24 at-bats. Of his 10 hits on the season, three of those have been extra base hits as he looks to continue to take advantage of his opportunity. Junior Braden Killens continues his recent string of success, going 1-4 against Walsh in the midweek game. However, he enters the weekend close to a milestone mark, needing just two home runs to tie the single season record. He set the record a season ago with 12 home runs and looks to build on that number.

As they head into their third weekend of MEC North Play, the Cardinals are looking to bounce back and climb back into the MEC North Standings. Right now, the Cardinals enter the weekend as the #3 team in the Division after sitting as the second place team a week ago. Wheeling sits just a game back of Frostburg State from the #3 spot, holding a 9-11 record in conference play while Fairmont State sits at 9-7. With a winning weekend, the Cardinals could once again secure themselves into the #2 spot in the division with two weeks to play. If the Cardinals are able to grab the #2 spot, they get the benefit of not having to play on the opening day of competition In the MEC Tournament. That could prove big in the tournament, affording then an extra day of rest to prepare for an MEC Championship run.

The Matchup

The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 56th time in program history when they start their series Sunday, with Fairmont State leading the all-time series at 33-22. The Cardinals have faired much better at home, going 14-17 in 31 previous meetings compared to a 6-15 mark on the road. Wheeling has averaged 4 runs per game in the all-time series and look to continue to score in this series. Last season, the Cardinals went 3-1 against Fairmont State and look for another winning weekend.

The Details

First pitch for Saturday's opener is scheduled for 4 PM at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia. You can watch live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.