They may be rounding into it though.

“No, I think we’re still getting to it,” Cover said. “We played really well down in Charleston two weekends ago, then we didn’t play for 12 days, I think. So, you know, yesterday was trying to get back into it. Today’s a little bit better. We got a game Wednesday, Thursday, and two Saturday. So, hopefully we can get into mid season form by the end of this week and keep it rolling where we go next.”

The road outing against the Cadets was the latest test for Wheeling Central, who also took a 2-1 10-inning odyssey against Toronto on Monday.

“Honestly, it’s good to just get back out on the field, getting reps,” Cover said. “We had a long game last night up at Toronto, played 10 innings, got back late last night. I wasn’t sure how much energy we would have. With a rivalry game with Linsly, they’re always a really good program, so you don’t want your guys to come out flat, because Linsly is going to put it to us.”

Against the Cadets, it was the bats atop Wheeling Central’s order and their arm on the mound which helped them to the win.

Starting pitcher Steven Brodegard, standing at 6-5, kept Linsly off the scoreboard and struck out five, allowing just three baserunners in the abbreviated game.

“You know, Steven threw really well for us, threw strikes, got ahead in the counts,” Cover said. “And I think that was big for us. He shut them down.”

The Maroon’s leadoff and two-hole hitters were the tip of the spear for Central’s scoring output, with Jake Brown and Gary Hatfield combining for five hits, six RBI and three runs scored.

Brown hit two doubles and finished with three RBI and two runs. Hatfield knocked a triple and had three RBI of his own.

“I think Jake Brown stepped up, Braxton Billick was out sick today, so I think Jake stepped up at the top of the order,” Cover said. “He got a couple of big hits for us. Gary Hatfield has been hitting the ball well all year. Koy Lipinski had a couple hits today. So, you know, the good thing about us is we go pretty deep.

“Usually you can get a little bit of a breather when you’re facing the bottom of the lineup. I think with us, I think we’re so deep that our bottom of the lineup is just as good as the top, really, in all aspects of hitting. So it’s a good problem to have.”

Evan Zido and Jaxon Murray each notched hits for Linsly, who move to 5-5 on the season.

“[Wheeling Central] played really well and we were just kind of flat,” Linsly head coach Jay Cartwright said. “Their pitcher’s really good, he made nice pitches in key situations. We had a shot to get back in the game, but we missed some plays in the field and we walked a lot of guys. They swing the bats well, they’re a quality team, you’re going to have to play quality baseball to beat them and we just didn’t tonight.”

Linsly plays Dover at home on Wednesday. The Cadets are seeking more consistency moving deeper into their season.

“We’ve just been inconsistent,” Cartwright said. “At times we can be very competitive- we lost to a solid Tri-Valley team here last week but we had good at-bats against a very good pitcher. Our at-bats tonight were okay early and then their pitcher kind of took over the game. We’ve got to get better, that’s all.”

For Wheeling Central, it’s a trip to Williamstown on Wednesday- another rival, and another test.

“That’s a big one,” Cover said.