Wheeling, W. Va. – It was the start of a week of non-conference action for the Wheeling University Baseball team (21-20, 11-13) as they hosted IUP Tuesday evening at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. It was a night where the offense came to the forefront, but the Cardinals ended up falling 16-12. The Cardinals scored at least one run in seven of the nine innings, but it was ultimately a 10-run inning for the Crimson Hawks in the sixth that led to the Cardinal's demise.

The Crimson Hawks would get an early lead on a solo home run by Davin Lander and another run in the top of the second would make it a 2-0 IUP advantage. The Cardinals would get their offense going with two outs in the bottom of the second when Kaleb Scull missed a solo home run by mere feet with a two-out double. Jacob Lentz would follow with a walk and a wild pitch moved runners to second and third with two outs. Carlos D'Amato would then get his big day started with a two RBI double that brought Lentz and Scull home and made it a 2-2 game after two. D'amato would finish the day with a career-high five RBI on the day and was a big part of the Cardinal's early offense. The early portion of the game would go back and forth as IUP picked up a run in the top of the third to make it a 3-2 game. 

The bottom of the third started strong for the Cardinals with Aidan Willard drawing a walk and Braden Killens being hit by a pitch to start things off. Nic Ancelet would drive in the third Cardinal run of the game with an RBI single that tied the game at 3-3. Scott Kondroik would follow with a sacrifice fly that brought home Killens and the Cardinals had their first lead of the game at 4-3. IUP would take the lead right back in the top of fourth, scoring two of their own to make it a 5-4 game, but Wheeling was back in the bottom of the fourth. Lentz and D'Amato would each draw walks and a fielder's choice kept runners at first and second with one out. Then, two batters later, Braden Killens would come through with the 99th hit of his career as he brought home D'Amato and tied the game at 5-5.

It was a bullpen game for both teams, with 16 different pitchers taking the mound on the afternoon, nine for the Cardinals and six for IUP. Lander would strike again for IUP in the top of the fifth and the score sat at 6-5 in favor of the Crimson Hawks heading into the bottom of the fifth. Kondroik and Scull would each draw walks to put two on with one out. After the second out of the inning, D'Amato would step in and put a capper on his big day. He drove a 1-0 fastball over the center field wall for a three-run home run and the Cardinals had their biggest lead of the day at 8-6. For D'Amato, it was the first home run of his collegiate career as he capped off a career best day. However, a 10 run inning for IUP in the top of the sixth would end up making the difference as an 8-6 Cardinal lead turned into a 16-8 deficit.

The Cardinals would add solo runs in the bottom of the sixth and bottom of the seventh, both coming in RBI groundouts, and two runs in the eighth, courtesy of a Scull single and an error. After the 10 run top of the sixth, the Cardinals bullpen was able to keepIUP off the board over the final three innings. Dominic Parker-McDonald would come on for the seventh when the Cardinals needed a shut down arm. Parker-McDonald delivered, throwing 2.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while walking three and striking out one. Hunter Dyck would throw the final inning of work, allowing two hits and striking out two as the Cardinals came to bat in the ninth. Willard would start things with a single, and Ancelet would draw a walk later, but it wasn't enough as they fell 16-12.

Carlos D'Amato had a career-best day at the played going 2-3 with a double, home run, three runs scored, and five RBI to round out the day. He took advantage of his opportunity at second base and came through in some big moments for his team. Scott Kondroik would add two RBI of his own, finishing 1-4, while Braden Killens and Aidan Willard each added RBI. The top four hitters in the Cardinal lineup combined to go 9-18 (.500) with five RBI. The offense had a strong day, building off their weekend, and they look to continue that success down the stretch.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, April 27th, when they host Salem with first pitch at 1 PM.