Winston-Salem, NC. - After sweeping the series-opening doubleheader on Saturday, the Wheeling University Baseball team (8-3, 0-0) came back looking for the weekend sweep on Saturday. The offense would explode for 20 runs, its highest output of the season, as the Cardinals secured their first series sweep of the year in a 20-8 victory. After giving up a four-spot in the bottom of the first, the Cardinals would score at least two runs in five of the next seven innings to pick up their eighth win of the season.
Wheeling would give Cardinal starting pitcher Luke Walter a lead before he took the mound after Caid Heflin got hit by a pitch with one out. Luke Meyer would step in and doubled to the left-center field gap to bring home Heflin and make it a 1-0 Cardinal lead. He would get to third on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there, and Carolina U would break their bats out in the bottom of the inning. They would put four on the board, but Walter would get out of the inning with the score remaining at 4-1. However, the Cardinal bats got going once again and not only got the runs back, but was able to retake the lead. Noah Gutierrez singled to start the inning and got all the way to third on a pair of wild pitches. He would be picked up by Keaton Ference on an RBI single, making it a 4-2 game.
Two batters later, Robbie Wilson-Jones drew a walk, and Edward Mateo followed behind him with a walk of his own to load the bases with one out. Heflin was hit big a pitch to bring home a run, and Meyer drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 4-4. Two batters later, Kale Wilkins would step to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, He would single through the right side of the infield to bring home a pair of runs and give the Cardinals a 6-4 lead heading to the bottom of the second. Walter would respond with a one-two-three bottom of the second, and the Cardinals were right back at it in the top of the third. Wilson-Jones would walk to start the inning, and Mateo would step in and launch a two-run home run over the left field wall. It gave the cardinals an 8-4 lead heading to the bottom of the third, where Walter's day would come to an end.
After allowing the first three batters to reach, and a fifth run to cross the plate, Walter would get a strikeout before giving way to the bullpen. He would finish the day throwing 2.1 innings allowing five unearned runs on four hits while walking two and striking out five. Kyle Binder would come in and put out the fire, keeping it an 8-5 Cardinal lead. The top of the fourth would see the Cardinals add two more runs, on a Ference RBI double and a Mateo ground out as Wheeling got to double digits at 10-5. It was Ference's second RBI of the day in what would be a big day for the right fielder. Neither team would get on the board over the next two innings until Wheeling cracked the scoreboard once again in the top of the seventh. Meyer would start things with a solo home run, but it was Ference who came through with the big blow.
Wheeling would load the bases on three straight singles by Kalayo Shaw, Kale Wilkins, and Gutierrez, and Ference would step up to the plate. He would send a grand slam over the left field wall and the Cardinals would extend their lead to 15-6 after seven innings. Carolina U would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the seventh, but the top of the eighth would see five more Cardinal runs cross the plate. Wheeling loaded the bases with one out and Wilkins would bring home a run with a bases loaded walk, and a Bruin error would bring home three more runs that made it a 19-8 game. Robbie Wilson-Jones would step in and picked up his first collegiate RBI with a single that brought the game to its final score of 20-8. Jacob Dukate would throw the final inning of work, striking out two and hitting two batters to close out the game.
Keaton Ference would lead the way with a career-high effort, finishing 3-6 with a home run, six RBI, and three runs scored. It was a career-high day for Ference, with his grand slam being the blow that broke the game open. Kale Wilkins added a 2-5 day with three RBI and two runs scored, while Edward Mateo also drove in three runs, finishing 1-5 with a home run and two runs scored. Robbie Wilson-Jones would add his first collegiate RBI in the effort, finishing 2-3 with a run scored to round out the effort.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, March 7th, when they begin a four-game series against Bluefield State at GoMart Ballpark with first pitch at 1 PM.
