Charleston, WV. - Friday served as the official 2026 Home Opener for the Wheeling University Baseball team (4-2, 0-0) as they traveled down to GoMart Ballpark in Charleston, West Virginia. The Cardinals hosted Mansfield University, and jumped on the Mountaineers early, but the lead would not be able to hold off with Wheeling falling 10-5. The offense put together 11 hits on the day, and finished with 17 total base runners, but it wasn't enough to hold off a late charge from the Mountaineers.
Jacob Rollyson would get the start for the Cardinals and, after allowing a leadoff single that was quickly erased on a caught stealing, he would retire the side to bring the Cardinal bats to the plate. The Cardinals threatened with back-to-back two out hits in the bottom half, but after one the score sat at 0-0. After a 1-2-3 inning from Rollyson in the second, his offense would get him support following a Nicholas Schulz walk to start the bottom of the second. Three batters later, Nick Chiappetta stepped in and sent a two-run home run over the left field wall to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Mansfield would throw a counter punch in the top of the third, when a leadoff double by Nick Ledger resulted in the first Mansfield run of the day. The Mountaineers would threaten to tie the game with a runner on third and two outs, but Rollyson settled in and got the groundout to end the inning.
Wheeling would go back to the long ball with one out in the bottom of the third, when Luke Meyer stepped in and put the Cardinal lead back to two. It was his first home run of the season and got the Wheeling lead back to 3-1 with three innings in the books. Mansfield once again answered with a home run of their own courtesy of Brinden Floyd's leadoff bomb. The ball was back in the Cardinal's court in the bottom of the fourth, and they would keep the scoring battle going between the two teams. Caid Heflin would get things started with a single and advanced to second on an error before stealing third. Chiappetta would step in with one out and a runner on third and sent a sacrifice fly to right field to bring home Heflin and make it a 4-2 game. The two offenses had traded runs in each of the last five half innings and, in the top of the fifth that streak stayed alive as Mansfield tied the game at 4-4 with their first multi-run inning.
Mason Fenwick was called on to get the final out of the fifth, ending Rollyson's day with 4.0 innings of work, allowing four runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out six. The Mountaineers would then get to Fenwick in the top of the sixth, adding on two more runs and taking their first lead of the day at 6-4. Fenwick would allow two runs and two hits while striking out two over his inning, and Tomoki Jitsukawa would come on to end the inning. The senior would calm things down in the top of the seventh, and the offense would get back on the board as the Cardinals got back to within one run of Mansfield. It would come on the team's third home run of the night, when Mateo hit his second of the year to make it a 6-5 game. Ultimately, that is as close as the Cardinals would get, and a four-run top of the eighth for the Mountaineers would seal the win. Wheeling threatened in the bottom of the ninth, getting runners to first and third with two outs, but a strikeout would end the game with Wheeling falling 10-5.
Leading the way on the offensive end for the Cardinals was designated hitter Luke Meyer, who finished 3-5 with a home run, an RBI, and a run scored. It was Meyer's second three-hit effort of the season, capped off by his first home run of 2026 to round out a big day. It was one of three home runs in total for the Cardinals, with Edward Mateo and Nick Chiappetta each sending pitches over the wall in the effort. Chiappetta led the way with three RBI on the day, finishing 1-3, while Mateo went 2-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored at the top of the lineup. In total, the Cardinals had 17 base runners on the night, but stranded 12 in the losing effort. They look to bring some more of those runners around on Saturday as they continue this three-game set.
The Wheeling Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, February 21st, where they host a 7/9 split doubleheader with Mansfield, with first pitch at 1 PM.
