Wheeling, W. Va. - While the rest of the students are preparing to go home for spring break, the Wheeling University Baseball team (3-1, 0-0) is opening spring break in Cary, North Carolina. The team will play three single games over the weekend as they continue their in-region non-conference schedule to start the season. They kick things off against Ohio Dominican University on Friday, followed by West Chester on Saturday and St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday to wrap up the weekend down south.
The Cardinals opened the season less than a week ago as they hosted Pitt-Johnstown in a four-game set at GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, West Virginia. The goal was to win the weekend and, after dropping the opener 9-2, the Cardinals had to battle over the final three games to make that happen. Game two would come down to the final Cardinal at-bat, with a home run sending it to extras before the Cardinals earned a walk-off 6-5 win. They carried that momentum into Monday's opener in what was a back-and forth game. The lead changed hands three times in the game, but the Cardinals broke through in the bottom of the sixth and went on to win 5-4. The final game of the weekend was a tight game as well, with the Cardinals leading 4-3 heading into the sixth. The Cardinals offense would break out in the bottom of the sixth, scoring seven runs, and went on to win the weekend with an 11-6 win.
Coming through with some of the biggest moments for the Cardinals during the weekend was Michael Norton, who combined to go 3-11 on the weekend, with all three of those hits coming in the game's biggest moments. With the Cardinals down to their last out in game two against the Mountain Cats, Norton would pinch hit and hit his first collegiate home run to send the game to extra innings. In the final game of the series, Norton would have his first multi-hit game of the season, going 2-4 with a home run and three RBI. He started the scoring with his second home run of the season, and helped the Cardinals break the game open late with a two-RBI single that made it an 8-3 game. Norton, who redshirted last season, looks to continue to be a big contributor in the middle of the Cardinal lineup down the stretch.
Finishing behind him were a pair of .300 hitters in Nicholas Schultz and Spencer Craig, who each finished the weekend 3-10 with a pair of RBI. It was a big second day for Schultz, who went 2-3 with a pair of runs scored in game one, before driving in two runs on a 1-2 day in the second game of the day. Caraig would get the weekend started off strong, driving in the team's only two runs of the game in game one, going 2-3 with a pair of RBI, while adding a 1-2 effort in the final game of the weekend. On the mound, it was Mason Fenwick who led the way over two appearances, one start. He would get the call to start in the final game of the series, and threw 4.0 no-hit innings in the Cardinal's 11-6 win. He struck out four batters over those 4.0 innings of work, and gave up two runs, none earned, across the two weekend outings.
As they head into their trip to Cary, North Carolina, the goal remains the same for Head Coach Ryan Lewicki and his team, win the weekend. The Cardinals will play their first nine-inning games of the season, with three single game showings across the three days of competition. During the opening weekend, the Cardinals had some things that Lewicki is looking for his guys to clean up, but they were able to take their first weekend effort. The Cardinals would hit .257 as a team, while pitching to a 4.83 ERA over the first four games, with the team looking to improve on both those numbers. The Cardinals are set to face tough competition during the final weekend of February as they look to roll into March with momentum.
The Matchups
Dominican University: The Cardinals and Chargers will be meeting for the first time in program history in their matchup on Friday morning. Dominican University is coming off a season that saw them go 16-33 in 2024 and 9-16 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play. After having a young team last season, the Chargers are a year older and are led by Tyler Richman, who hit .355 with 16 RBI. The Cardinals look to open the matchup with a win to open the weekend in Cary, NC.
West Chester: The Cardinals and Golden Rams are meeting for the first time in program history when they meet Saturday. West Chester has proven themselves as one of the elite teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), finishing 2024 with a 43-9 record overall and a 25-7 mark in conference play. They have started the 2025 season strong, taking three of four in their opening weekend against Charleston and the Cardinals will look to start the series strong in the second game of the weekend.
St. Thomas Aquinas: The Cardinals and Spartans are meeting for the first time in program history when they meet on Sunday. St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off a season that saw them go 24-27 overall and 14-10 in CACC play in 2024. They would qualify for the ECC Baseball Championship tournament, picking up a win over D'Youville before falling to Malloy and then again to D'Youville to end the weekend. The Cardinals will look to start the all-time series off with a win as they wrap up the weekend in Cary.
The Details
The weekend kicks off for the Wheeling University Baseball team on Friday, February 28th, when they take on Dominican University with first pitch at 11 AM. You can follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
