Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Baseball Team (12-26, 4-15) would host Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in a mid-week match up on Wednesday after being pushed back a day due to poor field conditions. The Cardinals would take the lead for an inning, but would fall short to the Crimson Falcons with a final score 8-4.
Brock Elliott would start the Cardinals off strong with the game being scoreless until the bottom of the 4th where Keaton Ference would get the first run of the game by hitting a homerun as the first batter of the inning. Elliott would pitch 5.2 innings after loading the bases with two outs. IUP batters would get on base by having a hit, walk, and getting hit by the pitch. Zach Dellerman would relieve Elliott in hopes of getting the final out to end the inning. Unfortunately, Dellerman would walk a batter allowing IUP to score and tie the game. With bases still loaded, Dellerman would give up a homerun allowing the bases to be cleared and increasing the score 5-1. Elijah Stark would then step in the pitch for Dellerman with two outs still remaining. Stark would start off by walking the first two batters he faced, then allowing one run to score on a single. Stark would throw a wild pitch allowing IUP to score one more run, before a fly out would end the inning.
With the Cardinals falling 7-1 at the bottom of the 6th, Brett Johnson would get walked to start the inning. Johnson would end up scoring two outs later, on a throwing error from the IUP secondbasemen. The inning would end on a flyout; Stark would return to the mound, but would be replaced by Logan Stalbird after walking the first batter. Stalbird would gain the three outs to end the inning with no runs or hits from IUP. The game would be runless until the bottom of the 8th where Chris Saure would score on a wild pitch and Brett Johnson would score on a passed ball to make the score 7-4.
At the top of the 9th inning, the Cardinals are looking to not allow any more runs for IUP, to then gain enough runs to bring home the win. Lamont Atkins would relieve Stalbird to start off the inning. First batter would ground out to first base; second batter would single, then score off of the third batters double to make the score 8-4. Akins would get a strikeout, and the inning would end on a flyout. The Cardinals are now in hopes of scoring enough runs to tie the game. First at bat would end up sticking out, but Josh Rush and Dylan Maltby would be able to get on base. Jacob Lentz would step to the plate in hopes of continuing his homerun streak from the Frostburg State series last weekend. Lentz would strike out and the game would end on a dropped third strikeout to first base. The Cardinals would fall to IUP during their mid-week match up with a final score of 8-4.
The Cardinals will hit the road Saturday, April 26 to Pittsburgh, PA to play Point Park University in their weekend series with first pitch at 1 PM.
