Charleston, W. Va. - On a cold and rainy day in the state capital of West Virginia, the Wheeling University Baseball team (36-15, 21-7) kicked off Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament play. The start of the action was delayed about a half hour due to rain in the area, and the Glenville State bats came out strong in the first. Wheeling would put together a late comeback effort, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the consolation bracket with a 14-7 loss at the hands of the Pioneers.
After accepting his MEC Pitcher of the Year award in a pregame ceremony, Sebastian Khan took the ball in game one for the Cardinals. However, Glenville State was swinging early, putting up four runs in the top of the first on three hits, while a Cardinal error allowed the fourth of those runs to score. He was opposed by Glenville State First Team All-MEC honoree Zach Dellerman and, although Edward Mateo would start things with a single, he was stranded at first to end the inning. Glenville State would add another run in the top of the second and, as the Cardinals came to the plate in the bottom half of the inning, they were trailing 5-0. Kalayo Shaw would quickly light a fire under the Cardinal offense with a lead-off double to start the bottom of the second. He would remain in scoring position with two outs, before Noah Gutierrez singled him home to put Wheeling on the board, making it a 5-1 game heading to the third.
The Glenville State offense just kept coming in the top of the third, with three more runs crossing the plate and forcing Khan out of the game. He would allow eight runs, seven earned, over his 2.1 while walking three and striking out two. Tomoki Jitsukawa was called out of the bullpen and, after allowing a single to the first batter he faced, he would strikeout back-to-back guys to put out the fire. Jitsukawa would settle in for the Cardinals, holding Glenville State off the board over the next two innings, before the Cardinals got the boom sticks going. It started in the bottom of the fifth, when Caid Heflin stepped in to lead-off the inning. He would deposit the 2-1 pitch over the right field wall and the Cardinals would cut the lead to 8-2. Gavin Millians would reach on an error to keep things going, but back-to-back outs would keep him on first with two away.
It brought Chris Alvarez to the plate, and he would deliver with a two-run home run down the left field line. It cut the Glenville State lead in half to 8-4, putting the Cardinals within striking distance with four innings to play. However, the fire was quickly put out as Glenville State responded with five runs in the top of the sixth, and the uphill climb would begin again with the Pioneers leading 13-4. The Cardinals would use four pitchers in the inning, and it would be Lamont Akins who would eventually put out the fire with a pop-out. That would remain the score until the bottom of the seventh, when the Cardinals put together their longest inning of the night. It would start with a Heflin double and, two batters later, Keaton Ference would draw a pinch hit walk to put runners at first and second with one out.
Shaw would single home the first run of the inning, putting the ball past the shortstop to bring Heflin home and make it a 13-5 game. The Cardinals would load the bases on the next batter as Alvarez reached on a fielder's choice and an error allowed Shaw to slide safely into second. Nicholas Schulz would draw a bases loaded walk and Jalen Raysor followed with an infield single to bring home two more and make it a 13-7 game. The bases were still loaded with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts would end the inning. Those would be the final two runs of the night for the Cardinals, and an RBI groundout by Adam Bright in the top of the eighth would cap off the scoring. Akins would finish off a scoreless outing, throwing 1.1 innings while striking out a batter, and Jacob Dukate would throw a scoreless ninth to round out the day. The Cardinals would end up falling 14-7 and dropped to Thursday's consolation bracket.
Leading the way for the Cardinals at the plate was Caid Heflin, who finished 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI in the effort. He would hit the first of two home runs in the bottom of the fifth for the Cardinals, as they got back to within four runs of the Pioneers. The other Cardinal home run would come from Chris Alvarez, who finished 1-4 with the home run and two RBI, finishing as the only Cardinal with multiple RBI on the day. Kalayo Shaw added a two-hit day, going 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Noah Gutierrez would finish the night 2-3 with an RBI.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Thursday, May 7th, when they take on the loser of #1S Concord vs. #3N Point Park with first pitch at 7 PM.
