Petersburg, VA. - For the second week in a row, the Wheeling University Baseball team (4-1, 0-0) got the chance to travel south to enjoy the warm spring weather. It was their first doubleheader of the 2026 season, as the Cardinals took on West Virginia State in the firs two games of a three-game weekend series. It was a day dominated by pitching, as the Cardinals threw a pair of shutouts to earn a 3-0 win in game one, followed by a 4-0 win in game two to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Game One: Wheeling 3, Virginia State 0
In the opening game of the day, the Cardinals would send Sebastian Khan to the mound for his second start of the season. After allowing just two runs over 4.0 innings against USC Beaufort, Khan was more efficient as he led the Cardinals to their first shutout win of the season. The senior would throw a complete-game, seven-inning, effort, allowing just two hits while walking one and striking out nine. He faced just three batters over the minimum in the effort, and allowed more than one base runner in one of his seven innings. He would take the mound with the lead already in hand, as his offense got him a run in the top of the first. Kayalo Shaw would get things started with a one-out single, but was still at first with two outs in the inning. That is when Gavin Millians would step in and found the gap with a double that allowed Shaw to come all the way from first to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Khan would then take the mound, and mowed down the Trojans, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. He would start the day strong, striking out the side in the bottom of the first, and got soft contact through the first three innings. He would start the second with his fourth strikeout of the game, and five of his next six outs would be ground balls in the infield. He gave up his first hit in the bottom of the fourt, allowing a one-out single, but the runner was caught stealing to end the inning. The biggest threat he would face would come in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, as Virginia State picked up a two-out single. An error would allow the next batter to reach, but the next batter would strikeout swinging to end the frame.
The score would still sit at 1-0 heading to the top of the sixth, but the Cardinals would get some much needed run support when Chris Alvarez walked to start the inning. Two batters later, Brett Johnson would get both runners into scoring position with a double and the Cardinals had runners at second and third with one out. Griffin Pickhardt would come through with an RBI single, and Nick Chiappetta added a sacrifice fly to give the Cardinals a 3-0 advantage. That was more than enough support for Khan, who allowed just one more base runner over the final two innings. He came out for the bottom of the seventh, and struck out the first batter he faced before getting a groundout and a flyout to complete the shutout effort.
Leading the offensive effort for the Cardinals was Kalayo Shaw, who finished 2-4 with a run scored in the effort. He was the only Cardinal with a multi-hit game as he set the table for the rest of the lineup. Gavin Millians, Griffin Pickhardt and Nick Chiappetta would each add RBI in the effort, as the Cardinals wrapped up the game one victory, They would look to sweep the day as they headed into the second game of the day.
Game Two: Wheeling 4, Virginia State 0
After a strong starting pitching performance in game one, the Cardinals duplicated that effort in the second game of the day. They would turn to redshirt sophomore Dom Carlson, who was making his second start of the season, and put together his best effort so far. Carlson would throw 5.0 hitless innings on the day, while walking two and striking out five. He faced 19 batters on the day, just four over the minimum as he continued the string of strong starting pitching. As they did for Khan, the offense got Carlson the lead before he took the mound, thanks to leadoff man Edward Mateo. Mateo would step in and lift his first home run of the season to give the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead. Gavin Millians would reach base with a one-out single, but Carlson took the mound with a 1-0 lead.
Carlson took the mound and was efficient through the first inning, getting two groundouts and a flyout to start the inning. He would set down the first eight batters he faced, with the streak coming to an end with a two-out hit batsman in the bottom of the third. It would remain a 1-0 game until the top of the fourth when Keaton Ference got things started with a double. Two batters later, Brett Johnson would step in and replaced Ference at second with a double of his own and the Cardinals lead moved to 2-0. Johnson would use his legs to advance 90 feet with a stolen base, but was stranded at third to end the inning. Carlson would face his first jam in the bottom of the fourth, walking two batters, but a flyout and a line out would end the inning with the Cardinals still leading 2-0.
In the top of the fifth, Wheeling would continue to add to their lead as back-to-back errors put Christian Cordova and Mateo on first and second with nobody out. A passed ball moved runners to second and third with nobody out, and Millians would bring both runners in. He lined a two-RBI single that scored both runners and doubled the Cardinal lead to 4-0. Carlson would finish out his day with a scoreless bottom of the fifth, before giving way to Jacob Rollyson to finish out the game. He entered with a no-hitter still in tack, but a leadoff single would end the no hit bid. However, Rollyson would retire the final three batters he faced, bringing the game to an end with the Cardinals picking up the 4-0 win.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Gavin Millians, who finished 2-4 with a double and two RBI in the win. It was his first multi-RBI effort of the season as he helped the Cardinals pick up their first sweep of the season. Edward Mateo would add a 1-3 effort with a home run, two runs scored, and an RBI, while Brett Johnson went 1-3 with a double and an RBI to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to the field for game three of their series with Virginia State Sunday, with first pitch at noon. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
