May Begins as Wheeling Baseball Wraps up Series with Alderson Broaddus - Wheeling University Athletics (2024)

Terry Hanco*ck

Baseball 4/30/2023 11:18:00 PM

Wheeling, W. Va. – The month of May kicks off on Monday, with conference and regional tournaments in the horizon. The Wheeling University Baseball team looks to clinch their postseason spot on Monday when they play the final two games of their four-game series with Alderson Broaddus, with first pitch scheduled for noon. After Notre Dame College was swept by Frostburg State on Sunday, the Cardinals need just one more win before punching their ticket to the 2023 MEC Tournament for the second time in program history.

In the first two games of the four game series with the Battlers, the Cardinals would split the day falling in game one before coming back to win the nightcap. It was a pitcher's duel early in that first game, with neither team allowing a run until the game's third inning. Both teams added a run in the inning and they would go blow for blow over the next two innings. However, a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth was enough to lift the Battlers to a 5-4 game one win. In game two, it was the Cardinals pitching that dominated the night, as three pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout. The Cardinals added three runs in the top of the sixth and it was enough to even up the series with a 3-0 Wheeling victory.

Leading the way in the shutout was starting pitcher Johendry Colmenares and reliever Jake Rife. Colmenares made his fifth start of the season, and it was the best outing of his season so far. He threw 3.0 shutout innings allowing two hits while walking one and striking out four. Colmenares has flipped between the starting rotation and the bullpen pretty much all season and has showed just how good he can be at times throughout the year. Rife has been a staple in the Cardinals bullpen this season, sporting the lowest ERA of any of the Cardinal relievers at 1.46. When he has been called into duty this season, it has usually been for a multiple inning stretch, with Saturday being his fourth appearance of three innings or more. Rife looks to continue to be a solid relief option for the Cardinals as they head down the stretch.

While the offense had its share of highs and lows in the split, one guy who has been leading the charge recently is senior Jacob Murray. Murray is hitting .300 (6-20) over his last six games with three home runs and seven RBI. He has one RBI so far in this series, coming in game one of the doubleheader, and has raised his season average to .316. The Cardinals have also been getting a spark from the top of the lineup, with Christian Boyles combining to go 4-9 in the two games with two runs scored. Boyles has his season average up to .348 entering play on Monday and is looking to continue to be a spark plug both at the top of the Cardinal's lineup and out in right field through the final week of the regular season.

The Cardinals have a chance to clinch what would be their second ever trip to the MEC Tournament on Monday. With Notre Dame College being swept by Frostburg State on Sunday, the Cardinals magic number has been lowered to just one game. With a win in either game of tomorrow's doubleheader, the Cardinals will clinch a spot in the 2023 MEC Tournament. It will set up an epic showdown in the final Conference series of the regular season with Wheeling and West Liberty battling it out for the two and three seeds in the tournament over the final four games. Wheeling currently sits third in the MEC North Standings entering Wednesday, but a pair of wins ties them with West Liberty for the two seed heading into a big weekend four-game set.

The Series So Far

This four-game series kicked off on Saturday, with the two teams splitting the double header on day one. With the pair of victories, the Cardinals got just their second and third wins ever in Philippi, West Virginia, improving to 3-10 on the road against the Battlers. Monday's series finale will shift to a neutral site as the team's meet at Frank Loria Field in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the home field of Salem University. Wheeling will be looking to take three of four from the Battlers for the second year in a row, after doing the same last season when the two teams met in Wheeling.

The Details

First Pitch for Monday's doubleheader is scheduled for 12 PM at Frank Loria Field in Clarksburg, West Virginia. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.