Frostburg, MD. – As they hit the final four week stretch of the season, the Wheeling University Baseball team (9-22, 2-12) began their run of Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division play. They played the first two games of their four game series with Frostburg State, and fell to the Bobcats in both halves of the doubleheader. It was a pitcher's duel in game one, with the Cardinals falling 3-0, before they fell in game two 5-2.

Game One: Frostburg State 3, Wheeling 0

After being postponed a day, Wes Landis would take the mound for the opener of the four-game series. Frostburg State would jump out in front with a run in the first and third, taking a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Cardinals threatened early, putting two on in the first inning, and has another runner reach base in the top of the second. Landis would settle in with back-to-back zeros in the fourth and fifth innings, working his way around a pair of base runners in each inning. In the top of the sixth inning, the Cardinals would mount their biggest threat of the day as Keaton Ference got things going with a two-out single, and Nic Ancelet followed with a single of his own to put runners at first and third. However, the runners would be stranded and the game would head into the bottom of the sixth at 2-0.

Frostburg State would add another run in the bottom of the sixth and took a 3-0 lead into the top of the seventh. Landis would finish his day throwing 6.0 innings of work allowing three runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out eight. In the top of the seventh, Christian Boyles got things started with a hit by pitch and the Cardinals were threatening to get on the board. However, a lineout would erase the runner as he got doubled off at first and now the Cardinals had nobody on and two outs. Cade Lacy would step in with two outs and flew out to end the game at 3-0. It was a classic pitcher's duel as the Cardinals would have to look to bounce back in the second game of the day.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Josh Rush, who finished 1-2 on the day. The other two Cardinals to pick up hits was Keaton Ference and Nicolas Ancelet, who each finished 1-3 in the effort. The offense would look to get going as they headed to the second game of the day.

Game Two: Frostburg State 5, Wheeling 2

In the second game of the day, the Cardinals would call on Tomoki Jitsukawa, and once again the Bobcats jumped on top early. They scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, before Jitsukawa came back with a scoreless second inning. The Cardinals would get their first run of the day in the top of the third when Chris Sauer reached on an infuekd single to start the inning. Seth Floyd followed with a single to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Christian Boyles would drive in a run with a suicide squeeze that made it a 2-1 game. A passed ball would move the runner to third, but that was the only run the Cardinals would score in the inning and it would be a 2-1 game after two and a half innings.

It would remain a 2-1 game until the bottom of the fourth when a two-run home run that made it a 4-1 game. It was the first of back-to-back homers for the Bobcats and they would build a 5-1 lead after five innings of play. The final Cardinal run would come in the top of the sixth when Spencer Craig got things going with a one-out single. Two batters later, Nicolas Ancelet would add a two-out single and runners were on first and third with two outs. Nicholas Schulz would bring home the run with a single and the Cardinals got to within three runs at 5-2. The Cardinals would get one batter on in the top of the seventh on a leadoff walk, but that was the only runner to reach and the Cardinals would fall by the final score of 5-2.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Nicholas Schulz, who finished 2-3 with an RBI in the effort. He was the only Cardinal to finish with two hits on the day as he put together a strong showing in the middle of the order. Chris Sauer would add a 1-2 effort with a walk and a run scored, while Seth Floyd and Spencer Craig each added 1-3 efforts to round out the day.

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Monday, April 14th, when the Cardinals and Bobcats play games three and four of their weekend set.