Morgantown, W. Va. – With weather pushing up their weekend plans, the Wheeling University Baseball team (29-10, 15-3) traveled to Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia for their series opener with Fairmont State. The Cardinal bats took center stage throughout the day, with Wheeling scoring a combined 23 runs between the two games, as they swept the first two games of the series. The Cardinals took game one 15-0 behind a strong outing from Sebastian Khan, while they took game two 8-0 to tie the single-season program win record.
Game One: Wheeling 15, Fairmont State 0
The first game was led by the Cardinal's offense and they got things going right from first pitch. Edward Mateo would step in to lead off the game and sent the first pitch he saw over the center field wall and the Cardinals were out to a 1-0 lead. It gave Sebastian Khan the lead before he even took the mound and he responded with a 1-2-3 bottom of the first. It was just the start of a strong performance in the mound, and the offense would continue to provide him plenty of support throughout the game. In the top of the second, Kalayo Shaw would start things off with a single and was able to get to scoring position with two outs thanks to a stolen base. Noah Gutierrez would be hit by a pitch and Griffin Pickhardt would follow with a walk and the bases were loaded with two outs. It would once again be Mateo who came through with the big hit, lining a two-RBI single that made it a 3-0 game.
The two-out offense would continue as Caid Heflin would single home Gutierrez and Mateo and Wheeling was staked to a 5-0 lead after an inning and a half. They were held off the board for the first time in the top of the third, but were right back at it in the top of the fourth when Griffin Pickhardt started with a single. Gutierrez would step in and followed with an RBI double that brought home Pickhardt and gave the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. Mateo would follow with a walk and Heflin would send a three-run home run in the top of the fourth and the Cardinals extended their lead to 9-0. The scoring would settle down over the next three innings, until the Cardinals had their biggest breakout of the game in the top of the 7th. The inning would start with a Chris Alvarez home run that got the Cardinals to the 10-run mark.
The inning would continue two batters later when Pickhardt walked and Gutierrez doubled to put two on and two out. It brought Mateo to the plate, who launched his second home run of the day, this one a three-run shot, and the Cardinals lead grew to 13-0. A walk from Heflin would keep things going, and Gavin Millians would cap off the scoring with a two-run home run that brought the game to its final score of 15-0. While the offense was scoring, Khan was carving up the Falcons over 6.1 innings of work. He allowed just one hit in that span, while walking two and striking out six. Elijah Stark would enter in the bottom of the seventh to get the final two outs, allowing a walk and a strikeout to round out the day. It was Wheeling's third highest offensive output of the year as they got the day started with a win.
Leading the offensive effort was Edward Mateo, who finished the day going 3-4 with two home runs, four runs scored, and six RBI in the effort. He was the one who got the game started with a solo shot, and added a three-run home run later to open the scoring. Caid Heflin would add a 2-4 day with a pair of runs scored and five RBI, while Gavin Millians followed with a 1-5 effort with a pair of RBI. Heflin and Millians each added home runs on the day, leading to a five homer day for the Cardinals. The final Cardinal home run came courtesy of a solo home run from Chris Alvarez, who finished 1-4. Noah Gutierrez added a multi-hit effort, going 2-3 with a double and an RBI, while Kalayo Shaw finished 3-4.
Game Two: Wheeling 8, Fairmont State 0
Game two would see the Cardinals send Mason Fenwick to the mound and he picked up right where Khan left off with a 1-2-3 bottom of the first. Wheeling's offense would get going thanks to a Fairmont State throwing error that allowed Kalayo Shaw to reach. He would move to second on a balk and back-to-back walks from Brett Johnson and Kale Wilkins would load the bases with one out. A wild pitch would allow Shaw to rush home for the first run of the game, and Nicholas Schulz followed with a two run single that made it a 3-0 game. It was once again Schulz who helped the Cardinals add on in the top of the fourth, lifting a sacrifice fly that scored Gavin Millians and pushed Wheeling's lead to 4-0 heading to the bottom of the third.
It was the start of five straight innings of scoring for the Cardinal offense. In the top of the fourth, the offense started with back-to-back walks from Jalen Raysor and Edward Mateo, and a fielder's choice would put runners on the corners with one out. A balk would allow Raysor to score from third and the Cardinal lead was pushed to 5-0. The top of the fifth began with a Kale Wilkins walk, and Griffin Pickhardt would lift a two-run home run to right field to make it a 7-0 lead. It was the sixth home run of the day between the two games, and Fenwick continued to thrive on the mound. After putting together a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, Fenwick allowed just four base runners between the first five innings and the Cardinals would lead 7-0 heading to the sixth inning.
The final Cardinal run of the game came in the top of the seventh when Caid Heflin was hit by a pitch. Keaton Ference would follow with a pinch hit double and the Cardinals had runners and second and third with nobody out. Shaw would bring in the final run of the game, lifting a sacrifice fly to right field and a Wheeling led 8-0 heading to the bottom of the seventh. Fenwick would pick up a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning and got the first out of the bottom of the seventh before giving way to the bullpen. Fenwick would finish his day throwing 6.1 innings of work allowing two hits while walking one and striking out four. Logan Stalbird would come in and walked two batters before giving way to Tomoki Jitsukawa. The senior would get the final two outs of the game, sealing the 8-0 win for the Cardinals.
Leading the way for Wheeling was Nicholas Schulz, who finished 1-3 with three RBI on the day. He would come through early as part of the Cardinal's three-run top of the second that got the offense going. Griffin Pickhardt would hit the lone home run of the day, finishing 1-3 with a home run and two RBI in the effort. Kalayo Shaw would drive in the final run of the day, finishing 1-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Sunday, April 19th, when they play games three and four of the series with first pitch at 1 PM.
