Wheeling Sweeps WV State
INSTITUTE, W.Va. (April 3) - The Wheeling University baseball team clubbed 21 hits in a two-game sweep of regionally-ranked West Virginia State Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) doubleheader.
THE MATCHUPS
- GAME 1 FINAL: Wheeling 10, West Virginia State 3
- GAME 2 FINAL: Wheeling 5, West Virginia State 4
- Location: Cal Bailey Field | Institute, West Virginia
- Records: Wheeling 13-6, 9-3 MEC | West Virginia State 12-6, 9-3 MEC
HOW IT HAPPENED in Game 1
- The Cardinals exploded for seven runs in the first inning, capped off by a grand slam home run by junior Anthony May (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Charles W. Baker).
- Junior Blake Vandiver (Alton, Ill./Roxana) delivered a two-out, two-RBI double in the third inning to extend the Wheeling lead to 9-0 and put the game out of reach.
GAME NOTES
- Sophomore pitcher Jared Naida (Cleveland, Ohio/Lakewood) improved to 2-0 on the season.
- Naida went five innings and limited the Yellow Jackets to one run on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.
- May went 2-for-2 with the grand slam and a walk drawn. He also added a triple and two runs scored to his final line.
- Vandiver finished with three hits, including a double, and two RBIs.
- Junior Connor Watt (Roanoke, Va./Glenvar) collected two hits, including a double, and two runs scored.
- Wheeling matched a season-high with 13 hits. The Cardinals had 13 in a 13-6 win at Concord last month.
HOW IT HAPPENED in Game 2
- Wheeling took the lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Riley Cameron (Vass, N.C./Union Pines) that scored Vandiver.
- The Cardinals tacked on another run in the second inning when senior Bryen Kimbrough (Southhampton, Pa./Pennsbury) delivered an RBI-single that made the score 2-0.
- West Virginia State scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second and put the Cardinals in the hole in the third inning with three runs on three hits to make the score 4-2.
- After three scoreless frames, Cameron got the offense going again with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, that cut the deficit to 4-3.
- The Yellow Jackets had a chance to increase their lead in the bottom of the sixth with runners on the corners, but junior pitcher Albert Baez (Fort Worth, Texas/Timber Creek) entered and ended the threat.
- In the seventh, Watt singled and scored on a miss-played ball by the right fielder to tie the game up.
- Wheeling loaded the bases up with one out and junior Jack Skantze (Clearwater, Fla./Countryside) brought the go-ahead run to the plate on a fielder's choice.
- The Yellow Jackets tried to turn a double-play to end the inning, but the second baseman's throw hit the runner Vandiver in the back to allow the go-ahead run to score.
- West Virginia State put a runner on with two outs, but Baez struck out the next hitter to secure the two-game sweep.
GAME NOTES
- Baez, the reigning MEC Pitcher of the Week, improved to 3-0 on the season. He tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief with a pair of strikeouts.
- Kimbrough led the offense with two hits, two RBIs, and a run scored.
- Cameron belted a home run and had two RBIs. He has already ascended into a tie for third all-time in school history with four home runs in a single-season.
UP NEXT
- Wheeling returns home next Saturday, April 10 to open MEC North play at the JB Chambers Complex.
- The Cardinals will begin a four-game series with Fairmont State (5-11, 3-5 MEC) with first-pitch set for 1 p.m.