Wheeling, W. Va. - After starting the Mountain East Conference (MEC) North Division portion of their schedule with a winning weekend, the Wheeling University Baseball team (27-10, 13-3) looks to keep that success going on the road. The team travels to Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia on Friday, April 17th, as they open the first two games of a four-game set with Fairmont State. The Cardinals have won four straight weekends entering play on Friday, and look to keep the success going against the Falcons.
Last time out, the Cardinals would take a break from the conference schedule, for a big midweek Atlantic Regional match-up with California University of Pennsylvania. The Vulcans would be first on the board with a run in the bottom of the first, but Wheeling quickly responded with two runs of their own in the top of the second. After allowing that early run, the Cardinal pitching staff settled in, throwing up zeros over the next seven innings, as they offense continued to pour on. They added a run in the top of the fourth, and two more in the top of the seventh, and Wheelign was staked to a 5-1 lead heading to the eighth inning. However, CAL-U was down but not out, getting a run back in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 5-2 game. Wheeling would get the first out of the top of bottom of the ninth, but the Vulcans ended the day with a four-run rally that earned them a 6-5 walk-off win.
The Cardinal starting pitching has been the driving force to the team's success as of late, and that continued in their midweek. Jacob Rollyson would continue that effort against CAL-U, throwing 7.0 innings allowing one run on four hits while striking out two batters. After giving up the first inning run, Rollyson settled in allowing just three base runners over the next five innings as the offense added on insurance. It continued a strong string of starting pitching over the weekends, with the Cardinal pitchers allowing the second fewest earned runs in the conference, while holding the third lowest ERA at 4.61. The Cardinal starters have pushed that ERA even lower this season, holding a 3.40 ERA. The effort was Rollyson's longest outing of the season, and his first 3.0+ inning appearance since March 14th, when he threw 4.0 innings against the University of Charleston.
On the offensive side, the big hit on the day was delivered by Nicholas Schulz, who finished 1-3 with a double, a pair of RBI, and a run scored in the effort. It was Schulz who came through with two big insurance runs with one out in the top of the seventh. With runners at first and second, he doubled down into the left field corner, bringing home both runners and pushing Wheeling's lead to 5-1. He has driven in three runs over his last four games and raised his season average to .276 in the effort. Nick Chiappetta got the start at shortstop and took advantage to spark the Cardinal's offense. He would finish the day 1-3 with a run scored, opening up the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the second. It was his first RBI since March 8th against Bluefield State, and broke an 0-6 string for the redshirt freshman as he took advantage of the midweek start.
As they enter the final three week stretch of MEC play, the Cardinals are closing in on locking up their spot in the 2026 MEC Baseball Tournament. They currently have a hold of the top spot in the MEC North Division with a conference record of 13-3 after opening divisional play against Frostburg State. As they enter their weekend series against Fairmont State, Wheeling's magic number to clinch a playoff spot sits at 8, with a chance to clinch that spot this weekend. The Cardinals need a combination of eight Wheeling wins or eight Fairmont State losses to clinch their spot, meaning a four-game weekend sweep of Fairmont State would officially punch their ticket to the postseason. Wheeling is looking to capture their first MEC North Division title since the 2021 season, as they look to get back to GoMart Ballpark after missing the playoffs entirely a season ago.
The Match-up
When the Cardinals and Falcons open their four-game set, they will be meeting for the 63rd time in program history, with Fairmont State leading the all-time series at 37-26. On the road, the Cardinals are 8-17 against the Falcons, compared to a 16-19 record at home and will be looking for their first series win against Fairmont State since the 2023 season. The two teams have split the season series in each of the last two years, with each of those series splits featuring a sweep of the day for each team over the course of the weekend.
The last meeting between the two teams came on April 29th, 2025, when they met in a single seven-inning make-up game that Fairmont State would win 7-6. Leading the way for the Cardinals was Nicholas Schulz, who finished 203 with a double, triple, pair of RBI and two runs scored. Brett Johnson would add a 2-4 effort with an RBI, while former Cardinal Spencer Craig finished the afternoon 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
The Details
First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 2 PM at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
