Wheeling, W. Va. - Friday night was a historic one for the Wheeling University Baseball program, as one of their own made their professional baseball debut. Left-handed pitcher Kenny Jinks took the mound for the Missoula Paddleheads of the Pioneer League on Friday, as he made his professional debut. It was the highest level of pro baseball that a Cardinal player has reached since former Wheeling Baseball player, and Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductee Noah Mull made it to High A ball with the San Diego Padres organization.

"This means everything to me," said Jinks. "All the hard work, failures, and successes have led me to this moment and I am going to ride it for as long as possible."

Jink's pro debut would come on Friday, July 19th, when he made the start against the Glacier Range Riders. Right away Jink's was able to make an impact, striking out the first three batters he faced in the top of the first. As he came back out for the second inning, Jink's was tagged for the only two runs he would allow on the day, but he would come back to finish the outing strong. He would pick up his second 1-2-3 inning of the day in the top of the third, ending the inning with a strikeout, before allowing two more runners to reach in the fourth to throw up his third zero of the day. Overall, Jinks would finish the day throwing 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on two hits while walking four and striking out six. After finishing up a strong career with the Cardinals, Jink's continued that success into his pro career.

Over two seasons in a Cardinal uniform, Jinks would make 28 appearances, 22 starts, finishing 12-5 with a 5.72 ERA over 133.2 innings of work. He would strike out 146 batters and walked 48 over that span, and sits as the program's all-time wins leader (12), while sitting third in program history with 146 strikeouts. During his senior season, Jinks continued his success on the mound, finishing 4-4 with a 5.30 ERA over 69.2 innings while striking out 75 and walking 24. Jinks was second among the team's starters in ERA, while leading the entire pitching staff in innings pitched. For his efforts, Jinks would earn Second Team All-MEC honors and got the ball for the Cardinal's first game in the MEC Tournament. It was the second All-MEC award of Jinks's career as he helped lead the team to back-to-back MEC Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.

Follow along with Jinks and the Missoula Paddleheads all summer long by clicking HERE.