WHEELING — John Marshall baseball coach Mark Cisar knows his team has the pitching to have success this season. He’s just hoping the offense will match that success.

The bats certainly did their part for the Monarchs on Tuesday as they rattled off 15 hits in a dominant five-inning 17-4 victory over Wheeling Central at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex.

“I think we’re going to compete this year and our pitching is going to carry us,” Cisar said. “We did make some changes in the lineup (Tuesday). We’re trying to find the right order and the right mix. Their catcher (Drew Murray) threw the ball well but we’ll hit-and-run and do whatever we have to do.”

After Chase Kerns led off the game with a walk, Jacob Coffield singled to plate the game’s first run and give JM at 1-0 edge.

Grant Neiswonger brought in the second run with a RBI knock in the first.

The Monarchs received some two-out lightning in the second when Ethan Neely provided a two-run single to create a 4-0 cushion.

Braxton Billick cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the second with a two-run double to cut the margin to 4-2 but John Marshall blew it open over the next two frames with a five-run third and a seven-run fourth to make it a 16-2 upper hand.

In the third-inning outburst, the Monarchs received a RBI sac fly from Kerns, another RBI single from Neely and a two-run hit from Connor Blatt.

Cisar’s squad was patient at the dish in the fourth, drawing four walks in the frame. Cramer and Coffield provided RBI singles and Neely tallied three more RBI on a bases-loaded double.

Neely finished with three hits and six RBI, while Coffield turned in three hits and two RBI and Kerns and Cramer each had two hits and a RBI.

Austin Lloyd and Eli Tucker each drove in a run for the Maroon Knights in the bottom of the fourth before Kerns drove in the game’s final run in the fifth.

John Marshall scored at-least one run in every inning.

“(Tuesday) is the first time this year that we’ve really hit with guys in scoring position,” Cisar said. “It’s a good sign and hopefully this carries over and if it does, good things will come in the future. It’s going to be a grind but when we pitch well, we will be in games. I thought Cramer threw the ball well (Tuesday).”

Cramer did his part as he earned the win with three strikeouts and two walks over four innings.

Wheeling Central also suffered from five errors in the loss, just a day after defeating Oak Glen.

“(Monday) we made the routine plays but (Tuesday) we couldn’t make them,” Central coach Jason Rowe said. “We do have some young guys who are still getting acclimated to the game. I talked to them about just relaxing and playing the game. I told them just to forget this one because we play 30 games.”