Charleston, W. Va. – It was a primetime matchup of two Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division powerhouses on Thursday night in the elimination round of the MEC Tournament. The Wheeling University Baseball team (25-26, 13-15) would take on Frostburg State in a win or go home scenario. It was a back and forth game throughout, but in the end the Cardinals would bow out of this year's tournament, falling 8-7 to bring the 2024 season to a close.
It was back and forth early on, with Frostburg State taking the first advantage with two runs in the top of the first. However, the Cardinals would get those two runs back in the bottom half as
Christian Boyles for things started with a two-out single. He would then steal second before an error allowed the runner to move to third and put runners at the corners with two outs.
Spencer Craig would then draw a walk to load the bases and
Thomas Kegerreis would bring home a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2.
Scott Kondroik would follow with an RBI single and
Kaleb Scull would produce the third straight run scoring hit as the Cardinals took a 4-2 lead after one inning. In the top of the second, Frostburg State would put two more across and tied the game at 4-4 as the game headed to the bottom of the second.
Frostburg State would add another run in the top of the third, giving them a 5-4 advantage before the pitching took over.
Kody McCarley would throw the first two innings for Wheeling, before giving way to Nick Martinez. The right hander would come in and settle things down for the Cardinals, throwing 3.1 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on one hit while walking one and striking out four. After Martinez put up a zero in the top of the fifth, the Wheeling offense would have their biggest outburst of the day in the bottom half.
Dylan Maltby would start things with a single and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch with nobody out. After a groundout moved the runner to third, the Bobcats elected to intentionally walk
Braden Killens to put runners on the corners.
The run scoring blow would come from
Christian Boyles, who lined a two-RBI single to left to give Wheeling a 7-5 lead. A run in the top of the fifth woul make it a 7-6 Cardinal lead before Martinez's day came to an end.
Wes Landis was the next call to the bullpen for Head Coach
Ryan Lewicki, and he would throw the next 2.0 innings. Despite giving up two runs in two innings of work, Landis was able to keep the Cardinals in the game as Frostburg State took an 8-7 lead. There was a slight delay in the action due to rain, but play resumed and
Jagger Iovinelli and
Sebastian Khan each threw scoreless innings of work. With three more outs to play with, the Cardinals came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth looking to at least push across the tying run.
After the first two batters of the inning were retired, Boyles would reach as the tying run. He would move into scoring position on a stolen base, bringing Nic Ancelet to the plate as the winning run. However, the day would end on a groundout as Wheeling took their second loss of the tournament, falling 8-7. The loss officially eliminated them from MEC Championship contention, brining the 2024 season to an end
Leading the way for the Cardinals for the second straight game was
Christian Boyles, who finished 3-5 with an RBI. Boyles was the Cardinal's leading hitter on the tournament, going a combined 4-8 (.500) with an RBI, as he ended his junior season strong.
Thomas Kegerreis and Nic Ancelet each lead the team with a pair of RBI, while
Scott Kondroik would drive in the other run to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Baseball team now heads into the off-season as they look to continue their growth into the 2025 season.
