Wheeling, W. Va. – The annual "The Battle for Wheeling" on the baseball diamond kicked off on Friday at Bishop Schmitt Field. It was a big day for the Wheeling University Baseball team (24-23, 12-14) as they honored their 13 seniors and were able to split the day. The offense was the driving force in game one, as the Cardinals picked up a 15-1 win, before they fell just short in game two, falling 7-6 to end the day.

Game One: Wheeling 15, West Liberty 1

The first game of the day was one ruled by offense, and that offense came early and often. It was the Hilltoppers who would get the first run of the inning in the top of the first, but the Cardinals were quick to respond in their half. Aidan Willard would step in and started things with a single before back-to-back walks to Braden Killens and Christian Boyles loaded the bases with nobody out. Nic Ancelet stepped in and got his big day started with a bases clearing double that put the Cardinals ahead 3-1. Ancelet would go on to steal third and two batters later, Spencer Craig brought him home with a sacrifice fly and the Cardinals were staked to a 4-1 lead after an inning of play.

That would be more than enough support for the Cardinal's pitching staff as Kenny Jinks settled in after allowing that first inning run. He struck out the final batter he faced in that inning, beginning a string of seven straight strikeouts. He struck out the side in both the second and third innings, and did not allow a run the rest of the night. His day ended after four innings, as he allowed just one run on three hits, while striking out a season-high 10 batters. The rest of the Cardinal bullpen was just as strong as Sebastian Khan, Josh Wessler, and Malkolm Barrett combined to shutout the Hilltoppers the rest of the way. The win would go to Wessler, who picked up his first win of the season, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings while striking out a batter. Khan would throw a scoreless inning and Barrett would throw the final 0.2 innings of work, including a flyout to right to end the game.

The offense's biggest inning came in the bottom of the third as they put up nine runs and blew the game open. Ancelet would start the inning with a single, and Thomas Kegerreis would smack a two-run home run to left field and the Cardinals extended their lead to 6-1. It was the first of two home runs in the inning for the Cardinals as Spencer Craig drew a walk and Scott Kondroik would lift a two-run home run over that same left field wall to make it an 8-1 Cardinal advantage. Two batters later, Dylan Maltby was hit by a pitch and with two outs, Killens doubled to put runners at second and third. Boyles would bring home Maltby on an infield single, and Ancelet would come through with his second straight run scoring hit. This time it was a two-run triple that made it an 11-1 lead. Kegerreis and Craig would bring home runs with back-to-back singles and the Cardinals had a 13-1 lead heading to the fourth.

The final two runs of the game for the Cardinals would come in the bottom of the fifth after Kegerreis reached on a hit-by-pitch with one out. After the second out was recorded, Kegerreis moved to scoring position on a wild pitch, and would come home on a Scott Kondroik single. Kondroik would steal himself a base during the next at-bat, and came home on a West Liberty error that brought home Kondroik and brought the game to its final score of 15-1. The Cardinals offense finished the day strong, racking up 14 hits in the effort as the offense continues to prepare for the MEC Tournament.

Leading the way for the Cardinal's offense was Nic Ancelet, who finished 3-5 with a double, a triple, three runs scored, and five RBI. Each time he stepped up with runners in scoring position, Ancelet delivered an RBI extra base hit as he continues his strong play through April and into the MEC Tournament. Thomas Kegerreis added a strong day at the plate, going 2-4 with three runs scored and three RBI on the day. Scott Kondroik would add the final home run, a second two-run shot, while adding a 2-4 day with two runs scored and a pair of RBI. Of the nine Cardinal starters, seven of those nine got a hit and six of those nine batters drove in a run on the day.

Game Two: West Liberty 7, Wheeling 6

After falling behind early in game one, it was the Cardinals turn to get out in front early in game two. After Nick Martinez threw a 1-2-3 top of the first, the Cardinal bats got going in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Nic Ancelet would reach on a single and promptly stole second to get into scoring position with two outs. That brought Scott Kondroik to the plate, who came through with an RBI single gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Martinez came out with the lead in the top of the second inning and threw another scoreless frame before the Hilltoppers got on the board in the top of the third. It was a two-run home run by Ryan Talbert to make it a 2-1 game and West Liberty would add two more runs in the top of the fifth that made it a 4-1 Cardinal deficit.

Martinez would end up throwing 3.0 innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out five. Wes Landis would take over in relief and, after a scoreless fourth was charged with his first two runs in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Aida Willard got things started with a one-out single and two batters later Ancelet was hit by a pitch. Kondroik would come through with another big two-out hit, beating out a slow grounder as Ancelet scored to make it 4-2. Thomas Kegerreis was up next and just missed a go-ahead home run by mere inches, and ended up tying the game at 4-4 with a two-RBI triple. However, a three-spot by the Hilltoppers in the top of the sixth would make it a 7-4 game. It remained that same score until the Cardinals came up for their final at-bats of the evening.

Braden Killens would start the bottom of the seventh with a double and he was quickly replaced by Ancelet. The Cardinal center fielder hit an RBI single that brought home Killens and made it a 7-5 game. During the next at-bat, Ancelet moved up to third on a wild pitch and would come home on a groundout by Kegerreis that made it a 7-6 game. Riley Day would then be called upon to pinch hit and lined a double to right centerfield and was pinch ran for by Christian Boyles. However, the game would end on a strikeout, and the Cardinals would fall to the Hilltoppers 7-6. Fairmont State had beaten Frostburg State in game two of their doubleheader earlier in the day and that officially made the Cardinals the #3 seed in the 2024 MEC Tournament.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Scott Kondroik, who finished 3-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Kondroik continued what was a strong day, driving in a combined five RBI between the two games. Nic Ancelet also kept his success going at the plate, finishing 2-3 with three runs scored and an RBI in game two, while Thomas Kegerreis went 1-3 with a triple and three RBI on the day. After the split, the Cardinals will now head on the road to close out the 2024 regular season before they start the 2024 MEC Tournament.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Sunday, May 5th, when they hit the road to face West Liberty with first pitch at 1 PM.