Wheeling, W. Va. - As the calendar gets set to turn from 2021 to 2022, the Wheeling University Softball team is preparing to take the field in a little more than a month, with another year of experience under their belt. They take the first step towards returning to the field as they release their 2022 schedule, which includes a trip to Winterville, Florida, and a 48-game schedule that features home doubleheaders against Slippery Rock and the defending Mountain East Conference (MEC) Champion West Liberty Hilltoppers.
The 2021 season was the first for the Cardinals under head coach Caressa Derossett, and saw the Cardinals post a 10-32 record and a 9-23 mark in Mountain East Conference play. With a team that consisted mostly of freshmen and sophomores, the Cardinals played competitive games throughout the season, and finished fifth in the MEC North Division. After having their season cancelled in 2020, it was a bounce back for a team that was trying to rebuild their program.
The first half of the 2022 schedule features a heavy slate of non-conference action, featuring three different road trips. The season begins on Saturday, February 12th, when Wheeling takes on Salem University in Morgantown, West Virginia in doubleheader action. They will then make a trip to Owensboro, Kentucky at the end of February, where they will play four games in two days, before wrapping up the non-conference portion of their schedule with a spring trip to Winterville, Florida for a week of action.
Once they return home, they have a week of recovery time before jumping headfirst into their Mountain East Conference schedule. They open with a home doubleheader against Alderson Broaddus in their 2021 Home Opener at the JB Chambers I-470 Complex and take on Notre Dame College the next day in doubleheader action. However, March sees the team play on the road most of the time, with each of the next five doubleheaders coming away from Wheeling. During that stretch, they face The University of Charleston, West Virginia State, and the defending MEC Champions West Liberty.
For as much as they are on the road in March, they turn around and play at home throughout April, with six of their final 10 doubleheaders all coming at home. They host Concord and Glenville State on April 9th and 10th, and West Liberty, Frostburg State, and Fairmont State on April 20th, 23rd, and 24th. There only non-conference game in the month of April is a doubleheader against Slippery Rock at home on April 13th. They wrap up the season on the road when they take on Notre Dame College on April 29th, followed by Alderson Broaddus on April 30th.
With another year of experience under their belt, Wheeling returns all three of their top offensive weapons from a year ago. Sophomore Cassi Roman returns to the infield after leading all eligible players with a .355 batting average a year ago, while tacking on five home runs and 24 RBI. Right behind her was redshirt sophomore Autumn Oehlstrom, who hit .327 and led the team with seven home runs while driving in 19 RBI during the season.
Junior pitcher Aubrie Lafferty returns to the circle as Wheeling's workhorse from a season ago. Lafferty tied for the team lead with 16 appearances and led the team with nine starts in 2021, going 1-7 with a 5.18 ERA during the season. She struck out a team-high 34 batters during the season, while working in 50.0 innings of work. Fellow junior Madison Macy is also back after leading the team with 61.2 innings of work in 2021. The Cardinals look for more control in the circle as they try to keep their opponents off base.
The Wheeling University Softball team kicks off their season on Saturday, February 12th, 2022, when they head to Morgantown, West Virginia to take on Salem University in doubleheader action at 12 and 2 PM.
