Wheeling, W. Va. - With one week left in the regular season, the Wheeling University Baseball team (33-13, 18-6) is looking to end the regular season strong and get momentum into postseason play. On Monday, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released their week 12 rankings and, for the second week in a row, the Cardinals were able to climb the regional ranking. They moved up two spots from a week ago, finishing #6 in the voting, once again setting the record for their highest regional ranking in program history.
The Cardinals are coming off a week that saw them go 3-2 across five games, including a weekend split in conference play to wrap things up. They started the week off in midweek action when they took on Davis & Elkins in non-conference action. It was a chance for the Cardinals to show off their depth, with 22 total players taking the field in what was a 9-1 Cardinal win. As thye entered the weekend, it was a battle of the two top pitching teams in the conference when Wheeling took on Point Park. The two teams would start the series on Friday, with Wheeling winning the opener 5-4 in extra innings, before dropping a 2-0 pitcher's duel in the nightcap. They came back on Sunday for the final two games of the series and the script would flip for game three. Wheeling would pick up a 4-0 victory in game one, before both offenses exploded in game two, with Point Park taking a 22-11 win.
In a weekend ruled by pitching, the Cardinal's top start would come from Dom Carlson, who took the hill for game three of the four-game series. He would turn in his best start of the season, throwing a complete game effort while allowing five hits while walking two and striking out five. Across his seven innings of work, he would finish with two 1-2-3 innings, and did not allow more than one base runner in each of the first five innings. Once he did have to work through traffic, he was able to hold the Pioneers off the board and secure the complete-game shutout. Senior Mason Fenwick would join him with success on the mound, allowing just two earned runs in the team's 2-0 loss in game two. He would throw 6.1 innings of work, allowing just the two earned runs on four hits, while walking one and striking out six.
At the plate, a lot of the offense would come in the finale of the four-game series, when the two teams combined for 33 runs in the seven-inning game. Leading the way in that effort was Caid Heflin, who finished 3-4 with three RBI on the day. It was one of three three-RBI performances on the day, including an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth that got the Cardinals their ninth run of the day. In the weekend opening win, it was a walk-off hit that would earn the victory, coming off the bat of Keaton Ference. Ference, who entered the game as a defensive substitution in the top of the seventh, was aggressive at the plate and took the second pitch he saw right back up the box. It brought home the game-winning run and went as the Cardinal's second walk-off win of the season.
The Cardinals remain just outside the top five, holding the #6 spot in the weekly poll, but jumped two spots from their previous ranking. They sit as the highest ranked MEC team in the field, and are one of two teams in the conference to earn a ranking. They join Frostburg State with that honor, with the Bobcats sitting one spot behind them in seventh. The Cardinals officially clinched their MEC Tournament berth on the weekend, and now have their eyes on the next prize, clinching a spot in the NCAA DII Regional Championship.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Friday, May 3rd, when they host West Liberty in doubleheader action with first pitch at 5 PM.
