SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio (April 26) – The Wheeling Jesuit University softball team held on for a split at Notre Dame (Ohio) in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) doubleheader Friday evening.
The Cardinals improve to 9-37 overall, 6-22 in league play. Meanwhile, the Falcons move to 8-20 in the MEC, 20-30 overall this season.
GAME ONE: Notre Dame 4, Wheeling Jesuit 0
The Cardinals were limited to three hits in their game one loss.
The game was a pitchers' duel early on, as both team were only able to scatter hits through three innings.
Notre Dame got on the board in the fourth inning when they broke through with three runs on four hits to take the lead.
The Falcons tacked on another run in the fifth with the help of a one-out triple to take a 4-0 advantage and continued to hold the Cardinals off of the scoreboard.
Freshman pitcher
Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts. She also collected two hits at the plate for WJU.
GAME TWO: Wheeling Jesuit 4, Notre Dame 3
The Cardinals scored early and held on late for a 4-3 win to close out the afternoon.
WJU got on the board in the first inning when sophomore
Alaina York (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) doubled and scored on a base-hit by junior
Brianna Grimes (Mason, Ohio/Mason).
The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the third inning with the help of an error. With two runners on base, Barron attempted a sacrifice bunt, but the Falcons threw the ball away and allowed lead runner
Jackie Cramer (Indian Head, Pa./Connellsville) to score. Grimes came to the dish next and delivered a sacrifice fly that plated senior
Molly Welsh (Bethel Park, Pa./OLSH) and gave the Cards a 3-0 lead.
The offense continued to hit the ball in the fourth inning. Junior catcher
Crystal Carrillo (Los Angeles, Calif./Warren) led the inning off with a double and scored two batters later on a base-hit by Cramer to put the Cardinals out in front 4-0.
Notre Dame broke through in the fifth inning for two runs on three hits and added another run in the sixth, but senior pitcher
Erin Unterbrink (Raymond, Ohio/Marysville) came on in relief and stranded the tying run at second base.
The Falcons put the pressure on again in the seventh when they put runners on the corners with one out. Unterbrink calmly got the next batter to ground out to her, before retiring the final batter to secure the win and a split.
Freshman pitcher
Madison Macy (Metamora, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) earned the win after she limited Notre Dame to three runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings with four strikeouts. Unterbrink picked up the save in relief.
Grimes led the team with two hits and two RBIs in the victory, while Cramer added two hits of her own with one RBI.
The Cardinals remain in Ohio tomorrow, April 27 when they travel to Urbana for a MEC doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
