Wheeling, W. Va. - After dropping their first weekend series of the year last weekend, the Wheeling University Baseball team (7-3, 0-0) was looking to bounce back as they traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Cardinals would play the first two games of their three-game series with Carolina U, and the offense led the way in a sweep of the day. The Cardinals scored a combined 26 runs between the two games, and tied for their best 10-game start in program history in the effort, moving to 7-3.
Game 1: Wheeling 10, Carolina U 4
The first game of the day saw Carolina U jump out in front early, getting a run in the bottom of the first via a wild pitch. Sebastian Khan got the start and allowed three base runners in the inning, but was able to hold the Bruins to one run to keep it a 1-0 game after an inning. Both teams were retired 1-2-3 in their halves of the second, before the Cardinal offense got on the board in the top of the third. Brett Johnson would start things off with a single, and two batters later stayed on first with two outs. That is when Luke Meyer stepped in and hit his second home run of the season to put the Cardinals out in front 2-1. Khan allowed a lead-off base runner in the bottom of the third, but it was erased on a double play and the Cardinals held on to their 2-1 lead after three innings.
The Bruins threatened in the bottom half of the fourth, getting runners to second and third with two outs, but a groundout got Khan out of the jam. His offense would get him some much needed insurance in the top of the fifth, when Edward Mateo started things with a double. Kalayo Shaw would step in and hit the second Wheeling home run of the day to double their lead to 4-1. Meyer followed with a single, and Gavin Millians followed with a single of his own to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Nicholas Schulz would pick up the runner at third with an RBI groundout, and two batters later, Chris Alvarez would single home Millians to extend the Cardinal lead to 6-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth. Another scoreless inning for Khan kept it a 4-1 game heading to the sixth, and the Cardinals would bust things open in the top of the sixth.
Johnson and Mateo drew back-to-back walks to start the inning, and a groundout for Shaw advanced runners to second and third with one out. Nick Chiappetta would then draw a walk, and Millians stepped in and launched a grand slam over the left field wall. It put the Cardinals out in front 10-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth, before Carolina U answered with two runs of their own to make it a 10-3 game. It would mark the end up the night for Khan, who threw 6.0 innings allowing three runs on seven hits, while walking two and striking out six. Ethan Wells would throw the final inning, giving up a walk and a solo home run, but the Cardinals would end up taking game one 10-4 to start the day.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was Gavin Millians, who finished 3-4 sixth a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored in the effort. His big blow would be the grand slam in the top of the sixth that brought the game to its final score. Kalayo Shaw and Luke Meyer would each add home runs of their own, with Meyer going 2-2 with a walk, a home run, and a run scored. Brett Johnson would add a 2-3 day with a pair of runs scored from the #9 spot to round out the effort. The Cardinals would look for the sweep as they headed into game two of the day.
Game Two: Wheeling 16, Carolina U 6
In the second game of the day, both offenses would get going right from the start, with the Cardinals stepping to the plate in the top of the first. Edward Mateo would start the game with a walk, then stole second and third to get 90 feet away from scoring. Caid Heflin would follow with a walk, and Mateo would score on a wild pitch to give Wheeling a 1-0 lead. With Heflin standing at second with no one out, he would move to third on a groundout by Luke Meyer, and came home on a wild pitch to give Wheeling a 2-0 lead. Carolina would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first, and a two-run home run in the bottom of the second gave the Bruins a 3-2 advantage.
The Cardinals would tie it up in their half of the third after Meyer tripled to start the innings. Gavin Millians would step in and continued his success from game one, lining a double down the right field line to tie the game at 3-3. The Bruins came back with two runs in the bottom of the third, and the Cardinals would trail 5-3 after three innings of play. The bounce back from the Cardinals continued in the top of the fourth, when Mateo reached on a leadoff walk. He would use his speed to steal second and then Heflin would bring him home with a two-out double that made it a 5-4 game. Jacob Rollyson rounded out his day retiring the first two batters of the fourth before Mason Fenwick came on. Rollyson ended up throwing 3.2 innings allowing five runs on six hits while walking one and striking out two before giving way to the bullpen.
With the Cardinals trailing 5-4 in the top of the fifth, Nicholas Schulz got things started with a one-out walk, and Kale Wilkins lifted a two-run home run to left to put Wheeling in front. Brett Johnson followed with a single, and stole second to get into scoring position, still with one out. Griffin Pickhardt would pick up the runner with an RBI single to left, and the Cardinals headed to the bottom of the fifth holding a 7-5 advantage. Fenwick finished the day with a scoreless bottom of the fifth, and walked the leadoff batter in the sixth before giving way to Tomoki Jitsukawa. The Bruins would get to Jitsukawa for a run in the bottom of the sixth, and the Cardinals held a 7-6 game heading to the seventh.
That is when Wheeling broke the game open when Millians reached first base on an error to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt moved him to scoring position and a Wilkins single made it an 8-6 game. Johnson would follow with a single, and a wild pitch moved runners to second and third still with only one out. Pickhardt would step in and hit the fifth Cardinal home run of the day, this one a three-run bomb that gave the Cardinals an 11-6 lead. Meyer would add an RBI single later in the inning while Nicholas Schulz drove in three with a double and Wilkins brought home Schulz with a double of his own to make it a 16-6 game. Brock Elliott would close things out, throwing the final 1.2 scoreless innings as the Cardinals sealed the 16-6 win.
Leading the way for the Cardinals in game two was Kale Wilkins, who finished 3-4 with two runs scored and four RBI in the effort. He would hit one of two home runs in the game for the Cardinals, and was one of two players with four RBI. The other was Griffin Pickhardt, who finished 2-4 with a home run and four RBI. Nicholas Schulz added a multi-hit day, finishing 2-3 with two runs scored and three RBI, while Caid Heflin, Luke Meyer, and Gavin Millians each drove in runs to round out the day.
Game three of the three-game weekend series between the Cardinals and Bruins is scheduled for Sunday, March 1st, with first pitch at 2 PM.
