Wheeling, W. Va. – With two weeks left in the regular season, the final push is on for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Baseball tournament. The Wheeling University Baseball team (12-26, 4-15) begins the final push on the road as they play the first two games of their four-game series against Point Park. The teams will play in Greentree, Pennsylvania, with first pitch scheduled for noon.
The Cardinals are coming off their final home midweek game of the season when they hosted IUP on Wednesday. It was a pitcher's, duel early with neither pitcher allowing a run through the first three innings of play. The Cardinals would be the first to break through in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run that gave them a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals would hold the Crimson Hawks hitless until the top of the sixth, but once they got their first hit the flood gates would open. IUP struck for seven runs in that bottom of the sixth inning, pulling out to a 7-1 advantage over the Cardinals. Wheeling kept things close allowing, just one run over the final three innings and they battled back with a run in the sixth and two in the eighth. However, that was as close as they got, falling 8-4.
Throughout the season, the Cardinals have gotten strong starting pitching, and that continued with Brock Elliott in the midweek. Elliott did not allow a hu through the first five innings of play, with the only three base runners allowed reaching via a pair of walks and a pair of hit by pitches. Elliott has been the Cardinal's midweek starter throughout the season, and has been on fire over his last two starts. He has totaled 10.0 innings of work allowing six runs, three earned, on six hits while walking three and striking out four. As the Cardinals head into their third divisional series of the year, they will be once again relying on their starters to lead the way against a potent Point Park offense.
On the offensive side, it was Keaton Ference who gave the Cardinals the early spark with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. It was his team-leading fourth home run of the year as he continued his strong showing at the plate. Over his last five games, he is hitting 4-15 (.267) with two doubles, a home run, and one RBI, and is riding a modest five-game hitting streak. The other top offensive performer for the Cardinals has been Jacob Lentz who is coming off his best weekend of the season. He hit a pair of bases clearing doubles and added the first grand slam of his career in the team's 2-1 series against Fairmont State. He has locked down his spot as the team's Designated Hitter and looks to finish out his season strong as a presence at the bottom of the Cardinal order.
Despite being out of contention for the 2025 MEC Baseball Tournament, the Cardinals can still play spoiler for the top two teams in the conference. With Point Park and Frostburg State battling it out for the top spot in the Division, the Cardinals could play a roll in determining who grabs that spot. If the Cardinals are able to win their second weekend of the conference schedule, they could knock the Pioneers out of contention for the top spot. It will be the first-ever conference match between the two teams in program history, with Point Park joining the MEC this past season, and the Cardinals look to start things strong in the all-time matchup.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Pioneers are meeting for the fifth and sixth times in program history on Friday, with the two teams sitting tied at 2-2 in the first four meetings. It will be the first in-conference meeting between the two teams with all of their previous meetings coming in road games. The Cardinals are averaging 6.25 runs per game in the all-time series, but are facing a new look Point Park team.
The last time the two teams met was on April 18th, 2023, in a doubleheader that Point Park would sweep by scores of 1-0 and 14-2. In game two, former Cardinal Cullen Hinderliter led the pitching staff throwing 1.2 scoreless innings while former Cardinal Corey Hull would finish 1-2 with a run scored in the effort. In game one, former Cardinal Kyle Rees would throw 4.2 innings allowing a run on five hits while walking five and striking out one.
The Details
First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for noon at the Greenetree Sports Complex. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
