Wheeling, W. Va. - Opening weekend is in the books and the Wheeling University Baseball team (2-1, 0-0) is coming off an opening weekend win over USC Beaufort. The man at the top of their lineup had a big weekend and earned the Mountain East Conference's (MEC) Hitter of the Week Award. The honors just keep coming for the senior utility man, as he was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Regional Hitter of the Week, the first award for the Cardinals since April 20th, 2021, when former Cardinal Chris Iazzetta was honored.
The utility man would hit in the leadoff spot for the Cardinals in all three games, and was a table setter reaching base 12 times across 17 plate appearances. He would hit .583 (7-12) while driving in five RBI and scoring nine runs across 12 at-bats during the three-game stretch. He would finish with multi-hit games in each of the three games during the weekend and would draw at least one walk in each of those games. He accounted for 14 of the Cardinal runs scored during the weekend, with 12 of those coming in the final game of the three-game set. In the final game of the series, the senior would put together his best game of the weekend, leading the team to their series victory.
In the final game of the series, Mateo would finish 2-3, reaching base five total times on the day, while picking up four RBI and five runs scored in the game. His biggest swing would come in the top of the sixth when he stepped up with the bases loaded. He would line a single to right field that would clear the bases and gave the Cardinals a 15-7 lead. It would be his final swing of the night, and secured a strong weekend for the senior in his Cardinals debut. Game two of the series would see him finish with the most hits, finishing 3-5 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. He won the Cardinal's first MEC Player of the Week award since March 3rd, 2025, when former Cardinal Jaden Wilcox won the MEC Pitcher of the Week.
Mateo is winning the first NCBWA Hitter of the Week award of the season for the Cardinals, giving the Wheeling Athletics Department their first Regional Player of the Week award of the 2025-2026 season. Mateo is the first Cardinal to be named NCBWA Hitter of the Week since the 2021 season, when former Cardinal Chris Iazzetta took home the same award in March of 2021.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, February 14th, when they travel to Virginia State University for a nine-inning game with first pitch at noon.
