Washington, PA. – After winning their fifth consecutive weekend, the Wheeling University Baseball team (31-11, 16-4) looked to keep their momentum going in their final midweek of the 2026 season. The team welcomed in Davis & Elkins to EQT Park for a non-conference nine-inning game, and nearly the whole bench contributed throughout the day. The Cardinals walked away with a 9-1 victory, with seven different Cardinals picking up hits and 22 total players seeing the field for Wheeling.
Jacob Rollyson would get the midweek start for the Cardinals, and Davis & Elkins would get to him early, with back-to-back hits to start the day. The second of those two hits would be an RBI single from Zach Calef-Boring, and the Senators held a 1-0 lead after a half inning of play. The Cardinals would quickly respond in the bottom half of the inning, with Edward Mateo and Caid Heflin drawing back-to-back leadoff walks. A pop out would advance Mateo to third, and Heflin stole second to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Designated hitter Luke Meyer would even the score with a sacrifice fly to left, and the game sat tied at 1-1 after an inning. Rollyson would settle down in the second inning, picking up his first 1-2-3 inning, and the Cardinal offense got right back at it in the top of the second. Kale Wilkins would lead off the inning with a solo home run, and Wheeling took a 2-1 advantage.
Nick Chiappetta would follow him up with a single, and an Edward Mateo double two batters later would put runners at second and third with one out. Those runners held there with two outs, and Gavin Millians came through in the clutch. He lined a two-RBI single to left to bring home both runners and make it a 4-1 Cardinal lead. That's where the score remained after three innings, and Rollyson rounded out the day with a 1-2-3 top of the third. Rollyson would end up throwing 3.0 innings, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out a batter. It was the second straight midweek start where Rollyson was able to keep the Cardinals in it early, and he would hand the ball off to Kyle Binder in the top of the fourth. The freshman started things with a scoreless top of the fourth, including helping to turn a 3-6-1 double play, and he finished with a scoreless top of the fifth to round out his day.
It was Binder's strongest outing of the season, seeing him throw 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three batters. The offense would get back going in support of Binder in the bottom of the fifth when Luke Meyer stepped to the plate and launched a solo home run over the right field wall. It gave the Cardinals a 5-1 lead after five innings as they began to open the floodgates the rest of the way. It would be the first of three straight innings in which the Cardinals scored, with the top of the sixth beginning with walks by Robbie Wilson-Jones and Mateo to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Heflin would single to load the bases, and a walk from Keaton Ference would bring home the sixth run of the game. An RBI groundout from Meyer and a sacrifice fly from Nicholas Schulz would add the final two runs of the inning, and Wheeling's lead grew to 8-1.
The bottom of the seventh would see Wheeling push one more across when Caid Heflin singled home Wilson-Jones to make it a 9-1 Wheeling lead. While the offense was scoring, three different Cardinals combined to keep the Senators at bay, with Lamont Akins, Ethan Wells, and Chris Sauer each throwing scoreless innings. Wells and Akins each gave up a hit, while Sauer walked one and struck out two to end the inning. As the game went on, both teams would go to their benches, with nearly each entire starting lineup being subbed out. In the bottom of the eighth, Tyler Armstrong would start things with a walk, but Wheeling could not push him around. Jacob Dukate would start the top of the ninth and sandwiched a single between two strikeouts before giving way to Kaleb Stang. The first two batters he faced would reach, but a fielder's choice would seal the 9-1 win for the Cardinals.
Getting the offense started for the Cardinals was Kale Wilkins, who finished 2-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and an RBI. He got the offense going with a solo home run in the top of the second and was one of two Cardinals to finish with a multi-hit performance. The other multi-hit effort would come from Caid Heflin, who finished 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Gavin Millians would drive in a pair of runs in the effort, while Luke Meyer hit the other home run for the Cardinals on the day.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Friday, April 24, when they host Point Park in doubleheader action with first pitch at 5 PM.
