WILLOUGHBY, Ohio -- The Lake Erie Baseball team played their second straight weekend at home with a non-conference series against the Wheeling Cardinals. Wheeling would take game one 10-9 in an offensive slugfest. Lake Erie would take game two, 6-4, and game three, 8-1, for the series victory.
 
Team Records
 
Lake Erie: 8-6 
Wheeling: 5-5 
 
Game Recaps
 
Game 1:
Wheeling- 10
Lake Erie- 9
 
The Storm would strike first in the bottom of the fourth, with three runs crossing home plate on a Graham Solak RBI single and a Wheeling error for a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals would strike back in the sixth inning taking a 6-3 lead. In the bottom half, Lake Erie would answer back with four runs to take an 8-7 lead coming with an RBI triple for Zimba Cadiz, an RBI single from Alex Jones, and an RBI double from Mitchel Szymczak. In the seventh, Wheeling would add four of their own runs for a 10-7 lead. The Storm countered with two more runs, cutting the lead to 10-9 with an RBI single from Jaxson Christ. The score would hold at 10-9 with the Cardinals taking the opening game of the series. 
 
W: Mason Fenwick (1-1) - 2.1 IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BBs, 2 Ks
L: Gage Miller (0-2) - 0.1 IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BBs
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Batting-
Runners Left on Base: Storm- 10, Cardinals- 10
Walks: Storm- 8, Cardinals- 11
Strikeouts: Storm- 10, Cardinals- 12
Stolen Bases: Storm- 2, Cardinals- 0
 
Pitching-
Walks: Storm- 11, Cardinals- 8
Strikeouts: Storm- 12, Cardinals- 10
Hit by Pitches: Storm- 3, Cardinals- 1
 
Fielding-
Errors: Storm- 0, Cardinals- 1
 
Game 1 Top Storm Performers: 
 
Sr. Graham Solak: 3-5, RBI, R, K 
Soph. Jaxson Christ: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K
Sr. Zimba Cadiz: 1-5, 3B, 2 RBI, R
 
Game 2:
Lake Erie- 6
Wheeling- 4
 
The Storm raced out to an early 4-0 in the first inning with an RBI single from Graham Solak, RBI sacrifice fly from Micah Geise, an RBI double from Travis Yankovich, and an RBI triple from Alex Jones. Wheeling first threated in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out, but would not plate a run. Lake Erie would add two more runs in the fifth with a Geise RBI single and Yankovich RBI double for a 6-0 lead. The Cardinals would strike in the sixth, putting up four runs on a hit and an error, cutting the lead down to 6-4. Floyd Mckenna would close the door in the sixth and seventh to give the Storm the 6-4 game two victory.
 
W: Alex Caudill (1-1) – 5.2 IP, 0 H, 4 R (1 ER), 5 BBs, 10 Ks
L: Jaden Wilcox (1-1) – 4.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BBs, 6 Ks
S: Floyd Mckenna (1) – 1.1 IP, H, 0 ER, 0 BBs, 3 Ks 
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Batting-
Runners Left on Base: Storm- 5, Cardinals- 8
Walks: Storm- 3, Cardinals- 5
Strikeouts: Storm- 8, Cardinals- 13
Stolen Bases: Storm- 3, Cardinals- 0
 
Pitching-
Walks: Storm- 5, Cardinals- 3
Strikeouts: Storm- 13, Cardinals- 8
Hit by Pitches: Storm- 3, Cardinals- 0
 
Fielding-
Errors: Storm- 3, Cardinals- 0
 
Game 2 Top Storm Performers:
 
Soph. Travis Yankovich: 2-3, 2 2Bs, 2 RBI, R, K
Sr. Graham Solak: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB
Soph. Micah Geise: 1-1, 2 RBI, R, SF, BB, 2 SBs
 
Game 3:
Lake Erie- 8
Wheeling- 1
 
In the fourth inning, the Storm would put three on the board with a two RBI singles from Travis Yankovich and Alex Jones for a 3-0 lead. Lake Erie would tack on two more in the sixth with a Jones sacrifice fly and Garrett Esposito RBI triple for a 5-0 lead. In the seventh, another run was plated with a solo home run from Graham Solak, his third of the season for a 6-0 lead. Wheeling would put their only run up in the eighth, bringing the score to 6-1. Two more runs came across for the storm in the bottom half with RBI doubles from Mitchel Szymczak and Solak for an 8-1 lead. Lake Erie would secure the series with the 8-1 victory.
 
W: Dominic Poltrone (2-1) – 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BBs, 9 Ks
L: Kody McCarley (0-2) – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BBs, 6 Ks
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Batting-
Runners Left on Base: Storm- 10, Cardinals- 8
Walks: Storm- 5, Cardinals- 2
Strikeouts: Storm- 11, Cardinals- 13
Stolen Bases: Storm- 1, Cardinals- 0
 
Pitching-
Walks: Storm- 2, Cardinals- 5
Strikeouts: Storm- 13, Cardinals- 11
Hit by Pitches: Storm- 2, Cardinals- 1
 
Fielding-
Errors: Storm- 1, Cardinals- 1
 
Game 3 Top Storm Performers:
 
Sr. Graham Solak: 2-3, HR (3), 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Sr. Alex Jones: 1-3, 3 RBI, SF, SB, K
Soph. Travis Yankovich: 4-5, RBI, 2 R
 
Series Evaluation
 
Strong Pitching Continues: Pitching remains a major strength for Lake Erie, despite a couple hiccups. After this series, Lake Erie leads three pitching categories in the G-MAC. The Storm has the best ERA (5.42), most strikeouts (145), and lowest batting average against (.209) in the G-MAC. With the bats beginning to heat up, the pitching staff looks to keep their foot on the pedal and continue showing their dominance.
 
Defensive Errors: A glaring weakness for Lake Erie this year is the defense. Lake Erie currently has the worst fielding percentage (.942) and most errors (26) in the G-MAC. In game two, there were three errors, with one costing three unearned runs to score. In game three, the lone error led to the Cardinals only run of the game. With G-MAC play beginning, the defense can be a reason whether games are won or lost with every game being important. 
 
Bats Starting to Heat Up: Before the series, Lake Erie was hitting .217 as a team. Lake Erie hit a combined .335 in the three-game series, while also putting up double digit hits in two games. After the series victory, Lake Erie is now hitting .245 on the season. Lake Erie is getting hot right as G-MAC play is set to begin. If Lake Erie continues to hit like they did during this series, expect Lake Erie to be very competitive as G-MAC play progresses.
 
Series History
 
With the series victory, Lake Erie is now 2-2 all-time against Wheeling, with the only previous matchup coming in 2023.  
 
Up Next
 
Lake Erie heads back on the road to play Cedarville University to begin G-MAC play with a four-game series, beginning on Friday, March 14th.
 
Cedarville is currently 7-9 on the season, with recent wins against Glenville State and Chestnut Hill. In the 2025 G-MAC preseason poll, the Yellow Jackets were voted to finish 4th in the south division. 
 
Cedarville is currently eighth in the G-MAC for batting average (.266), third in ERA (5.52), and eighth in fielding percentage (.959 with 24 errors).