Morgantown, W. Va. – After picking up two wins on day one in Morgantown, West Virginia, the Wheeling University Baseball team (21-19, 11-13) looked to keep the success going in game two. The team got off to a hot start in game one and made a late push in game two, but neither ended in the Cardinal's favor as they fell to Fairmont State. They dropped game one 8-7 and after battling back in game two would drop the nightcap 11-10 to round out the day.

Game One: Fairmont State 8, Wheeling 7

Building off their strong offensive day on day one, the Cardinal offense got back to work right in the top of the first in game one as Aidan Willard started things with a hit by pitch. Braden Killens would then walk and two batters later Spencer Craig followed with a walk of his own that loaded the bases. Nic Ancelet would draw the third walk of the inning to bring home the game's first run and a fourth walk to Dylan Maltby would make it a 2-0 Cardinal advantage. Nicholas Martinez would get the start and threw a scoreless first inning, working his way around a leadoff single, before the Cardinals added on in the top of the second. 

Christian Boyles would step in to start the top of the second and would double to get a leadoff man into scoring position. Two batters later, Braden Killens would step up and picked up the first of three RBI on the day with a single that made it a 3-0 Cardinal lead. Martinez followed with another scoreless inning in the bottom of the second before Wheeling pushed across their fourth run of the game in the top of the third. Craig walked to leadoff the inning and a sacrifice bunt by Nic Ancelet moved him to second with one out. Another groundout, this time by Maltby, would move Craig to third and brought Thomas Kegerreis up with two outs and a runner at third. He came through with an RBI single that brought home Craig and made it a 4-0 Cardinal lead heading into the bottom of the third.

Fairmont State would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth, putting up a three spot and it was a 4-3 game heading to the fourth. Boyles would get things started with a walk and two batters later, Braden Killens would step in for one of his biggest at-bats of the day. He lifted a two-run home run to centerfield and the Cardinals got two of those runs back, making it a 6-3 game. It was his 12th home run of the season, tying him for the program single season home run record that he set a season ago. Their seventh run of the day came in the top of the sixth, when Ancelet added a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-3 Cardinal lead. Martinez's day came to an end in the bottom of the sixth, and he finished throwing 5.0 innings allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking five and striking out four.

However, the Fairmont State would put up a four-spot in the bottom of the sixth and made it a 7-6 game heading to the seventh. The Cardinals threatened to add on in the top of the seventh as they loaded the bases with one out in the inning. However, back-to-back strikeouts would end the threat and the Cardinals held a one -run lead heading to the bottom of the seventh. This is where Fairmont State would get the win as they scored a pair of runs and earned a walk-off 8-7 win to round out the day.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Braden Killens, who finished 2-3 with a home run and three RBI on the day. Killens hit his 12th home run of the season, tying the single season mark that he set a season ago, as he continues to be a run producer down the stretch. Nic Ancelet would add two RBI on the day while Thomas Kegerreis added a pair of hits and an RBI of his own to round out the day. The Cardinals looked for a bounce back as they headed into game two of the day.

Game Two: Fairmont State 11, Wheeling 10

In the second game of the day it was Fairmont State who would get out to the strong start. They put up two runs in the bottom of the first, before starting pitcher Kody McCarley went to work. He didn't allow a run over the next two innings and it remained a 2-0 Fairmont State advantage after three innings. However, in the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons offense got going again with a three spot and three more runs in the bottom of the fifth would spell the end of McCarley's day. He would end the day throwing 4.1 innings allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits while walking two and striking out five. Josh Wessker would come in and get Wheeling out of the jam, but the Cardinals trailed 8-0 after five innings.

In the top of the sixth, the Cardinals would continue their comeback effort as Tyler Livingston got things started with a single. Aidan Willard would step in and drive a home run to left field as Wheeling cut into the Falcon lead at 8-2. Braden Killens would step in and broke the single-season home run record, lifting his 13th home run of the season and the Cardinals made it a 8-3 game. Two batters later, Spencer Craig reached on a single and the Cardinal's third home run of the inning would be a two-run shot that made it an 8-5 game. However, Fairmont State wasn't done, tacking on two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth as they made it a 10-5 game. The Cardinals would have one more comeback in them as Riley Day drew a pinch hit walk to start the inning.

Tyler Livingston would then walk and a groundout moved the pair into scoring position. Braden Killens would walk to load the bases and Christian Boyles worked a walk to make it a 10-6 game. A wild pitch would bring home the Cardinal's seventh run of the game and another walk by Jacob Lentz loaded the bases. Ancelet would single to move the  runners station to station and another single from Kaleb Scull would make it a 10-9 game. The Cardinals would get the tying run on a walk by Drew Sefsick, and they headed into the bottom of the seventh with a 10-10 game. However, Fairmont State would walk off for the second time today as they picked up an 11-10 win to close out the sweep.

The Cardinals were led by Nic Ancelet, who finished 2-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and three RBI. Ancelet finished with four RBI on the day  as he continues his strong performance at the plate. Braden Killens made history, hitting his second home run of the day and breaking the single-season home run record with his 13th home run of the season. The final home run of the day came courtesy of Aidan Willard, who finished 1-3 with two RBI.

The Wheeling University baseball team returns to action on Tuesday, April 23rd, when they host IUP with first pitch at 3 PM.