heeling, W. Va. - The Easter weekend kicked off at the JB Chambers I-470 Complex on Friday afternoon as the Wheeling University Baseball team (12-24, 4-14) kicked off their four-game set with Fairmont state. It was a big day for the offense, with the Cardinals scoring a combined 19 runs between the two games earning a sweep over the falcons. Wheeling picked up their second straight walk-off win in game one 10-9 and followed it up with a 9-6 win in the second game for their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) double header sweep of the season.
Game One: Wheeling 10, Fairmont State 9
For the second straight day at the JB Chambers I-470 Complex, the Cardinals entered their final at-bats needing a run to tie or two to get the win. After the Cardinals had built a 7-1 lead through the first three innings, Fairmont State battled all the way back to take a 9-8 lead heading into the Cardinal's final at-bats of the game. Christian Boyles would lead off the inning with a single and Nicolas Ancelet followed with a single and the Cardinals were in business with two runners on and nobody out. Nicholas Schulz would step in and laid down the sacrifice bunt to move runners to second and third, and Josh Rush would tie the game with a sacrifice fly that brought home Boyles. That brought Jacob Lentz to the plate with the winning run 90-feet away and he came through on the two strike pitch. He laced an RBI single to left to score Ancelet and give Wheeling their second straight walk-off win.
While the late spark earned the win, it was a strong start that got the Cardinals going after a scoreless top of the first by Tomoki Jitsukawa. After the first two Cardinal batters were retired, Keaton Ference would get things going on his birthday with a two-out double. Boyles would follow with a walk and Ancelet would bring both runners home with an RBI double that gave the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage. Schulz would walk and ancelet stole third, but that was as far as the Cardinals got as they held a 2-0 lead after one. Jitsukawa would add another scoreless frame in the top of the second, before allowing his first run in the top of the third that made it a 2-1 game. The Cardinal offense would ensure that the one-run lead wouldn't remain one run for long as Spencer Craig walked to start the inning and a pair of one-out walks would load the bases.
Josh Rush would step in with the bases loaded and drew a walk that would score the third Cardinal run of the game. However, the big hit would come as Lentz stepped into the box with the bases loaded and still one out. He would deposit a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for his first career grand slam as the Cardinals extended their lead to 7-1. With the lead in hand, Jitsukawa would add a scoreless fourth inning before allowing two fifth inning runs to bring an end to his day. The right-hander would throw 5.0 innings allowing three runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out two. The Falcons would begin their push with the two fifth inning runs and added three more in the top of the sixth to make it a 7-6 game.
The Cardinals headed to the bottom of the sixth looking for an insurance run and got it from their leadoff hitter. With one out in the inning, Johnson would step in and lined a solo home run into the Cardinal bullpen beyond the left field wall. It gave Wheeling an 8-6 lead heading into the top of the seventh. However, Fairmont State would add three runs in their half of the inning with a passed ball allowing the go-ahead run to score. It was the Cardinals second straight game heading into their final at-bats down by a run and the second straight game in which they earned a walk-off win.
Leading the charge throughout the day was Cardinal's designated hitter Jacob Lentz, who put together a career day at the plate. He would finish 2-4 with a home run and a career-high five RBI, including the first grand slam of his career. The other multi-RBI effort would come from Nicolas Ancelet, who finished 2-4 with a double and two RBI on the day. Brett Johnson would round out the effort, finishing 2-4 with a home run and an RBI out of the lead-off spot. The Cardinals would look for their first doubleheader sweep of the season as they headed into game two.
Game Two: Wheeling 9, Fairmont State 6
Unlike game one, the second game of the day was a back and forth affair. Jaden Wilcox would get the start for the Cardinals and Fairmont State would be first on the board with a run in the top of the first. Wilcox would rebound a scoreless second inning before the Cardinal bats got going. It was Christian Boyles who would spark things with a triple to the right center field Gap to give the Cardinals a runner in scoring position. Two batters later, he would take advantage of a Falcon miscue scoring on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1. Fairmont State got that run back in the top of the third but Wilcox once again limited the damage. The Cardinals took their first lead in the bottom of the Third When Brett Johnson got things started with a one out double. It was the first of back-to-back doubles for the Cardinals as Spencer Craig brought him home with a double of his own.
After the second out of the inning was recorded, Boyles pick up his second hit of the day, a two-out single, that put runners on the corners with two outs. It was Boyles's speed that generated the second run of the inning. He took off for second and got in there what's the stolen base, and Craig would come sprinting home on the back end and slid in ahead of the tag to give Wheeling a 3-2 lead. The lead wouldn't last long as Fairmont State put up another run in the top of the fourth and the game sat tied at 3-3 heading to the bottom of the fourth. Jalen Raysor would start the fourth with a walk and Jacob Lentz continued his big day from game one. This time it was an RBI double that brought home Raysor and put Wheeling back in front 4-3. Seth Floyd would follow with a single that moved runners to first and third for the top of the lineup.
Brett Johnson would answer with a sinking line drive to right that dropped in front of the diving right fielder as Lentz came home to make it a 5-3 game. Johnson and Floyd would move up to second and third on a wild pitch and Keaton Ferencd would draw a one-out walk to load the bases. Boyles would step in and picked up his first RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly that gave Wheeling a 6-3 lead after four innings. The Falcons would pick up a run for the third straight inning in the top of the fifth to make it 6-4, but the Cardinals once again had an answer in the bottom of the fifth as a Brett Johnson single brought home Raysor and made it a 7-4 game. In the top of the sixth, Fairmont State kept pushing adding two more runs but Wilcox was able to hold the lead.
He finished his day throwing 6.0 innings allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out three. The Cardinals would come to the plate in the bottom of the sixth looking for insurance and it would come off the bat of Boyles. Keaton Ference would reach on a single to start the inning and Boyles would step into the box. He would provide the support the Cardinals needed, launching a two-run home run over the batters eye and extended the Cardinal lead to 9-6. With a save on the line, Wes Landis would come in looking to secure the win and got two quick outs. He would allow two men to reach on a hit by pitch and a walked batter, but with her a ground ball to second to bring the game to its final score of 9-6.
Leading the way for the Cardinals in game two was Christian Boyles, who finished 3-3 with a home run three RBI and two runs scored. His home run in the sixth inning was the security the team needed to pick up their first MEC sweep of the season. Brett Johnson had another big day at the top of the lineup going 3-5 with a pair of RBI, giving him five hits between the two games. Jacob Lentz wrapped up his big day, going 1-3 with a double and an RBI, giving him six RBI between the two games.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, April 19th, when they host games three and four of the series at 3 PM.
