Nutter Fort, W. Va. – At the beginning of the season, the Wheeling University Baseball team (24-8, 10-2) set a goal of winning the Atlantic Regional Weekends. On Saturday, they traveled back to Nutter Fort, West Virginia to wrap up their series with Salem and did just that, winning their third weekend in a row. They would earn the day two sweep over the Tigers, taking game one 13-3 and following that up with a 6-5 game two win, as they finished the weekend 3-1.
Game One: Wheeling 13, Salem 3
After splitting day one, the Cardinals would send their ace Sebastian Khan to the mound for the game three start. Salem would get to him for one run in the bottom of the first, on a sacrifice fly, but the senior responded with a 1-2-3 bottom of the second to keep it a 1-0 game. Wheeling's offense would threaten in both the top of the second and the top of the third , after being set down in order in the top of the first, but couldn't find their way across the plate. Salem would add to their lead in the bottom of the third, putting up a pair of runs and the Cardinals headed to the top of the fourth trialing 3-0. The early threat would pay off for the Cardinals, with the offense breaking out I. The top of the fourth inning. It would be Edward Mateo that go things started with a double, and Gavin Millians stepped up and smashed a two-run home run to cut the Salem lead to 3-2.
Two batters later, Luke Meyer and Chris Alvarez reached on back-to-back singles and the Cardinals offense was back in business. Caid Heflin would get the Cardinals back on the board with an RBI single and just like that the game was tied at 3-3. He would get himself into scoring position with a stolen base and the Cardinals would have runners on second and third, still with one out on the board. Griffin Pickhardt would single home Alvarez the very next batter and Kalayo Shaw added an RBI fielder's choice to put Wheeling ahead 5-3. Now with two outs on the board, Jalen Raysor reached on a single and he and Shaw moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Mateo would put the ball on the ground, and a Tiger error benefited the Cardinals as Shaw came around to score and Wheeling held a 6-3 lead.
Now heading to the mound with a lead, Khan would get into a groove, picking up a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth to get the Cardinals back to the bat racks. Wheeling would be back on the board two innings later, when a Heflin walk got the inning started. After being picked off, Pickhardt would draw a walk followed by a Shaw single and a Raysor hit by pitch to load the bases with one out. Mateo stepped in with the bases loaded and would come through again, this time with a two RBI single and the Cardinals lead grew to 8-3. Millians would step in with two still on base, and he deposited his second home run of the day, a three-run shot, and the Cardinals took an 11-3 advantage. The final two Cardinal runs would come on the top of the seventh, when Heflin and Pickhardt hit back-to-back solo home runs and Wheeling built a 12-3 lead.
Khan would finish his day with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning, before Mason Fenwick came on to finish the game. Khan would finish the day throwing 6.0 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on one hit while walking five and striking out five. Fenwick would finish out the day with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, getting a pair of flyouts, followed by a groundout to end the day.
The offense was led by a huge day from Gavin Millians, who finished 3-4 with two home runs, five RBI, and two runs scored in the effort. He had just two home runs entering Saturday's doubleheader, and doubled that in just one game. Edward Mateo would finish right behind him, finishing 2-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Caid Heflin and Griffin Pickhardt each added a home run while each driving in two RBI in the effort.
Game Two: Wheeling 6, Salem 5
After scoring in each of the last two innings in game one, the Cardinal success continued into the second game of the day. Chris Alvarez and Edward Mateo would reach on back-to-back one-out singles, but Mateo was caught stealing to leave a runner at third with two outs. That's when Gavin Millians came through again, this time with an RBI single and the Cardinals were out to an early 1-0 lead. Dom Carlson would get the start for the Cardinals, and he was charged with a run in the bottom of the first before settling in. He would throw a scoreless bottom of the second, and the Cardinal bats would get back in front in the top of the third. Griffin Pickhardt would start the inning with a single and was replaced by Brett Johnson on a Fielder's Choice to start the inning.
Alvarez followed with a single and Mateo would walk to load the bases for the Cardinals with one out. Millians would step up and singled home Johnson to put the Cardinals back in front 2-1. Nicholas Schulz would follow with a fielder's choice to bring home Mateo and Wheeling was staked to a 3-1 lead. Carlson would head back to the mound with the lead on his side and he delivered with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the bottom of the third and bottom of the fourth innings. In the top of the fifth, the Cardinals were able to open the game when Mateo singled and Schulz drew a one-out walk to put runners at second and third with one out. Caid Heflin would step to the plate and he sent a three-run home run over the wall and the Cardinals lead was doubled to 6-1.
Carlson continued his run of success, retiring 12 batters in a row from the third inning to the sixth inning. He would come out for the bottom of the seventh inning, but a walk and a single would end his day. Mason Fenwick would enter his second game of the day, and Salem battled to the very last out. The Tigers would put up four runs in that bottom of the seventh inning, but Fenwick would end the day with a groundout to secure the 6-5 win for the Cardinals. Carlson would put together his best start of the season, throwing 6.0 innings allowing three runs on five hits while walking three and striking out three. Fenwick would end the day with an inning of work, allowing two runs of his own on three hits while walking two and not striking out a batter.
Leading the way was Caid Heflin, who finished 1-2 with a home run and three RBI. Heflin homered in each of the two games on the day, hitting his first two bombs of the season. Gavin Millians would add two RBI of his own, hitting a pair of singles to round out a big day that saw him drive in seven RBI. Nicholas Schulz would drive in the other RBI to round out the big day for the offense.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Saturday, April 11th, when the Cardinals host Frostburg State.
