Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last month, the Wheeling University Baseball team (5-5, 0-0) has faced a non-conference schedule with an emphasis on Atlantic Regional play. On Friday, the team begins the road to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament with a weekend down south in Charleston, West Virginia. They open the weekend against the University of Charleston on Friday at 4 PM, before wrapping things up against West Virginia State on Saturday at 1 PM.
The Cardinals are coming off a three-game weekend set that saw them head to Painesville, Ohio to take on Lake Erie College. The series started with a bang as the Cardinals picked up a come from behind win in game one over the Storm. After being down 3-0 early, the Cardinals exploded for 10 runs between the sixth and seventh innings and went on to win by the final score of 10-9. As the weekend went on, the Cardinals continued to play a close game, but would be swept in the day two doubleheader. In the first game of the day, the Cardinals would fall behind 6-0 before putting up four runs in the top of the sixth, but they would fall by the final score of 6-4. The final game saw Lake Ere put together their best pitching performance of the weekend, holding the Cardinals to one run as they fell 8-1 to finish the weekend 1-2.
The Cardinal's offense was once again led by the man at the top, outfielder Brett Johnson, who finished 3-11 (.272) with an RBI in each of the three games. His top performance came in the weekend opener where he finished 1-4 with a pair of RBI in the performance. He would drive in the only run in both the second and third games of the series as he pushed his hitting streak to nine straight games. Johnson is the Cardinal's leading hitter this season, hitting .324 with two doubles and five RBI through 10 games played. Johnson sits in the top 25 in the conference in hitting this season, while leading the Cardinals in batting average (.324), hits (12), and at-bats (37). He looks to continue to be a spark plug for the Cardinals at the top of the lineup.
Despite taking the loss in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, Kody McCarley turned in another strong start for the Cardinals. He would last , 5.0 innings allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out six. For McCarley, it was the second straight start where he has gone at least 4.0 innings and has given up two earned runs or less. He is the leader amongst the Cardinal's starting staff, pitching to a 4.73 ERA over 13.1 innings pitched. His battery mate Steven Merkel is someone who is beginning to find his consistency at the plate. The junior put together his first multi-RBI game against the Storm, finishing 1-5 with a double and a pair of RBI. Merkel looks to be one of the pieces to solidify the middle of the Cardinal batting order.
As the Cardinals begin the 2025 MEC schedule, the road to Charleston kicks off once more. Last season, the Cardinals were the #3 seed from the MEC North Division and would drop their first two games of the tournament, ending their season. As they enter 2025, the Cardinals have a mostly new roster, with many of the guys getting their first experience with MEC play. They begin with their annual MEC south schedule, taking on the defending MEC South Champions Charleston, and then rebound with the #2 seed from the South in West Virginia State. Last season, the Cardinals would host both series at Wild Things Park and came within a few innings of sweeping the series. The Cardinals head into this year looking to win the weekend as they kick-off the road to GoMart Ballpark.
The Matchups
Charleston: The Cardinals and Golden Eagles are meeting for the 43rd and 44th times in program history when they meet on Friday. Charleston leads the all-time series with a record of 26-16, including a 12-6 record when they host. The Cardinals are looking to break a 13-game losing streak against the University of Charleston, dating back to April 2nd, 2018. Their last meeting came in the first round of the 2024 MEC Tournament in a game that Charleston won 10-0. The Cardinals were led by Christian Boyles, who picked up one hit while former Cardinal Kenny Jinks got the start going 6.0 innings.
West Virginia State: The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets will meet for the 41st and 42nd times in program history on Saturday in the second half of the weekend. West Virginia State leads the all-time series at 28-11 and 22-8 when they teams meet in Institute, West Virginia. Wheeling got swept in the last two doubleheaders by West Virginia State and are looking to break a four-game skid their last meeting came on March 17th, 2024 as West Virginia State won both games by scores of 10-0 and 10-4.
The Details
First pitch for Friday's weekend opener against the University of Charleston is scheduled for 4 PM inside the Welch Athletic Complex on the campus of the University of Charleston. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
