Wheeling, W. Va. - It was the start of a big four-game series with Atlantic Region implications on Friday as the Wheeling University Baseball team (22-8, 10-2) headed down to Nutter Fort, West Virginia. They would play the first two games against Salem University, with the two teams splitting the games to open up the weekend. Wheeling would win a game one pitcher's duel 4-2 before a late comeback would fall just short in an 8-5 loss in game two to round out the split. 

Game 1: Wheeling 4, Salem 2 

After making a pair of relief appearances during the week, the Cardinals turned to Ethan Wells for the game one start, and the right-hander delivered. After allowing a two-out walk followed by a single in the bottom of the first, he would strand the runners, and followed with a 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning. Salem starting pitcher Connor Thiele was rolling in his own right, retiring six of the first seven batters he faced, with the exception of a two-out Brett Johnson single, and the game went into the third sitting scoreless. After Thiele retired the first batter he faced in the top of the third, it was Noah Gutierrez who would get things started with a one-out single. It was followed by a double from Kalayo Shaw, and the cardinals had runners at second and third with one out. 

The Mountain East Conference's (MEC) leader in batting average would step to the plate and came through with a two-RBI single, bringing home Guiterrez and Shaw, and the Cardinals had a 2-0 lead. However, in the bottom of the third inning, Salem got those two runs back on an RBI double by Cody Thomas, and the game was once again knotted up at 2-2. The Cardinal bats would not let that cool them down, with the top of the fourth beginning with a Brett Johnson double and a Chris Alvarez single that put runners at the corners with nobody out. Griffin Pickhardt would step in and brought the runner from third home with a sacrifice fly that made it a 3-2 game. Alvarez, who stole second prior to the sacrifice fly, moved up to third on the play, and Gutierrez would bring him home with a sacrifice fly of his own that made it a 4-2 game. 

Wells would come back out for the bottom of the fourth, and finished his day strong working around a lead-off walk to keep Wheeling in front 4-2. Wells would end up throwing 4.0 innings allowing two runs on four hits while walking three and striking out five. Wheeling needed some length from the bullpen, and they would get it courtesy of Tomoki Jitsukawa. The senior entered in the fifth, and allowed just two base runners over the final 3.0 innings. Both of those base runners would come in the bottom of the sixth, and Jitsukawa ended the day by retiring six straight batters. His final out would come on a Brandon Hoftjzer groundout and the Cardinals secured the 4-2 victory. With the effort, Jitsukawa picked up his first career save, allowing one hit and a walk while striking out a batter over his three innings of work. 

Leading the offensive effort for the Cardinals was Edward Mateo, who finished 1-4 with a pair of RBI in the effort. His batting average is up to .433 so far this season, and his move to the three spot in the batting order has helped him step in for more run scoring situations. Noah Gutierrez would finish behind him, going 1-2 with an RBI in the effort, while Griffin Pickhardt added the final RBI to round out the day. 

Game Two: Salem 8, Wheeling 5 

After pitching led the way in game one, both offenses would come to life at different times in game two. Jacob Rollyson would take the ball in game one and started things strong with a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning. However, the Tiger offense would come to life in the bottom of the second, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the second inning. The senior was able to get out of the inning, but finished his day with 2.0 innings of work, allowing seven runs on six hits while walking two and striking out a batter. The Cardinals would deploy the bullpen the rest of the day, with Lamont Akins and Jacob Dukate each being deployed in two-inning spurts. 

Akins would come on for the bottom of the third and, after allowing a run in the third, he would settle down and throw a clean fourth inning. Akins would finish his two innings allowing two hits while walking one and striking out one. Jacob Dukate would finish the final two innings strong for Wheeling, helping them have the opportunity to battle back late. He would throw the final 2.0 innings allowing one hit while striking out a batter. After being scored on early, the Cardinals were able to respond with a run in the third and a run in the fourth to bring the score to 8-2. In the top of the third, it was Luke Meyer who would get the Cardinals on the board, hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Edward Mateo to make it a 7-1 game. In the top of the fourth, the Cardinals played to an identical script, with Keaton Ference lifting a sacrifice fly to bring home Nicholas Schulz and make it an 8-2 game. 

Entering the top of the seventh, the Cardinals were down to their last at-bats and battled, putting up three runs. Jalen Raysor would start the inning with a single and Robbie Wilson-Jones would hit a triple to bring him home to get the scoring started. Wilson-Jones remained on third with one out for Mateo, who promptly doubled to bring home Wilson-Jones and keep the scoring going. The final RBI of the day would be of the two-out variety, with Kale Wilkins sending the ball right back up the middle to bring home Mateo and bring the game to its final score of 8-5. 

The Cardinals were once again led by Edward Mateo, who finished 3-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. It wrapped up a big day at the plate for the Cardinal infielder, who would total to go 4-7 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI. Kale Wilkins would add a 2-3 day with an RBI while Robbie Wilson-Jones added a 1-3 effort with a triple and an RBI. 

The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, April 4th, for the final two games of the four-game series, with first pitch at noon.