BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (April 16) – The Wheeling Jesuit University softball team was dealt a pair of losses by West Virginia Wesleyan Tuesday afternoon. The Cardinals were knocked off 8-3 in the opener, before dropping game two 7-2 to end the day.
 
WJU drops to 7-33 overall, 4-18 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Meanwhile, the Bobcats improve to 9-11 in league play, 16-18 overall this season.
 
GAME ONE: W.Va. Wesleyan 8, Wheeling Jesuit 3
The Cardinals were unable to come back from a six-run deficit in their game one loss.
 
The Bobcats plated three runs in both the second and third innings to take the lead.
 
WJU got on the board in the fourth when junior Briana Grimes (Mason, Ohio/Mason) homered to lead off the inning. The Cardinals manufactured a second run with a single, a passed ball, a sacrifice bunt and a RBI-single by freshman Gina Fogle (Toronto, Ohio/Toronto) that made the score 6-2.
 
Wheeling Jesuit inched closer in the fifth when senior Molly Welsh (Bethel Park, Pa./OLSH) led the inning off with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by classmate Courtney Rogers (Hurricane, W.Va./Hurricane). 
 
Wesleyan scored two runs in the sixth inning to rebuild its lead to 8-3 and held the Cardinals scoreless in the final two innings to earn the win.
 
Freshman Taylor Hradek (Perry, Ohio/Perry) led WJU with two hits in the win.
 
GAME TWO: W.Va. Wesleyan 7, Wheeling Jesuit 2
The Cardinals opened up a two-run lead through three innings, but a pair of multi-run innings by the Bobcats propelled them to the sweep.
 
WJU manufactured runs in the second and third innings with sacrifice flys by senior Jackie Cramer (Indian Head, Pa./Connellsville) and sophomore Alaina York (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) that made the score 2-0.
 
Wesleyan took advantage of a pair of errors in the fourth inning to take a 3-2 lead and tacked on four more runs in the sixth to put the game away. 
 
Cramer was the top hitter for the Cardinals with two hits and a RBI in game two.
 
Wheeling Jesuit has made adjustments to its weekend schedule with the threat of inclement weather in the forecast. The Cardinals will now play Fairmont State on Thursday, April 18 at 4 p.m. (originally scheduled for Friday) and have moved their series against Shepherd to Monday, April 22 (originally scheduled for Saturday).