photo by: Kim North

Wheeling Park’s Ryland Robb delivers a pitch to the plate Thursday against Brooke. The senior struck out six, walked two and hit a pair in four no-hit innings. Freshman Jaxon Updegraff hurled a hitless fifth as the Patriots no-hit the Bruins, 10-0.

WHEELING – Although it was nearly 30 degrees colder Thursday than it was on Wednesday, the chill-filled breeze on the Wheeling Park hilltop was not enough to cool off the red-hot Wheeling Park baseball team.

The Patriots (2-0) used no-hit pitching, flawless play in the field and 11 more base hits in rolling past debuting Brooke, 10-0, in five innings on the artificial surface on Patriot Field.

“The elements were tough but our guys continued to play hard and hit the ball,” Wheeling Park head coach Steve Myers said. “We got solid pitching and played good defense.”

Shepherd University signee Ryland Robb worked the first four frames, striking out half-a-dozen, walking two and hitting a pair. He erased one of the baserunners with a pickoff to end the second inning. Robb threw 70 pitches, with 41 being strikes. He threw a first-pitch strike to half of the 16 Bruins he faced.

“He stayed composed,” Myers said of Robb. “He was really focused today.”

Freshman Jaxon Updegraff took the hill for the fifth and needed just seven pitches – all strikes – to complete the no-no. He fanned a pair.

“He’s going to be a good player,” Myers said of Updegraff.

Leading 5-0 entering the home half of the fifth, Wheeling Park collected six hits – two doubles and four singles – in duplicating their run total to that point and invoking the 10-run mercy rule against reliever Gavin Kuchinski.

Rocco DiGiandomenico ignited the late uprising with a wind-blown double to left-center. Nolan Yanchak’s double to right-center made it 6-0. Noah Short lofted a soft single over shortstop that was misplayed as Yanchak, after hesitating at third, scored on to up the margin to 7-0 as Short alertly took second. With one out, Miles Gorby ripped an RBI single up the middle for an 8-0 advantage. Following a single by Kolten Whitmire, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. Updegraff slapped a 2-1 offering through the right side of the infield as Gorby and Whitmire scored to end things.

The top three hitters in the Wheeling Park order each finished with two hits, with Nate Simon belting a single and triple to drive home two runs. Updegraff and Whitmire each singled twice and combined for three ribbies.

The Patriots, who defeated University 12-2 in five innings 24 hours earlier, jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one at bat as Updegraf singled, Simon tripled him home and two runs scored when Yanchak’s shot to first caromed into shallow right-center.

Whitmire had a run-scoring single in the fourth and Simon, a Seton Hill University recruit, singled in the fifth run of the game.

The Bruins advanced a runner to second in the fourth when Henry Anderson walked and moved up 90 feet when Robb was called for a balk with one out. However, a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a hit-by-pitch ended the inning.

Freshman Niko Palavis got the start for Brooke. The righty struck out three and walked a trio while tossing 69 pitches, of which 37 were strikes.

“It was a tough day for us. We started a freshman on the mound today, and I think it was 3-0 when he left … two unearned (runs),” Brooke head coach Doug Costain said. “That was the bright spot for us today.

“I’m not in the business of making excuses,” Costain added, “but we’ve only been on the baseball field three times, twice for scrimmages and once to practice. We talked about valuing our at-bats a little more, taking a better approach at the plate. We’ll get there. It’s still early.”

Wheeling Park returns to the diamond Saturday for a doubleheader at Parkersburg South. Brooke visits Elkins the same day for a 1:30 p.m. contest.