Wheeling, W. Va. - The snow and ice are melting outside and the Wheeling University Softball team (0-0, 0-0) is ready to kick off their 2022 season on Friday. They head over to Morgantown, West Virginia when they take on Salem University in Doubleheader action with the first game at 12 pm followed by game two at 2 pm. The Cardinals opened their 2021 season against Salem with a split of a doubleheader last season and are excited to get back out there in 2022 looking for another fast start.
Last season, the Cardinals were a young unit with a majority of their roster consisting of freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and sophomores. It was a year of gaining experience for the Cardinals and they finished the season with a record of 10-32 overall and 9-23 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. The Cardinals finished the year on a hot streak, winning three of their last four games, including a doubleheader sweep over Alderson Broaddus to end the season. They look to carry that momentum into this season as they are a year older and ready to compete in the MEC.
Returning to lead the offense are a pair of sophomores who had big showings last season in Cassi Roman and Autumn Ohlestrom. Roman was the team's leading hitter in 2021, hitting .355 with five home runs and 24 RBI. She was the team's leader in RBI a year ago and will look to be a prominent bat in the middle of the lineup once again. Ohlestrom brings some pop to the Cardinals lineup after leading the team with seven home runs a year ago. Ohlestrom also finished with a .327 batting average and a team-high .584 slugging percentage.
In the circle, Wheeling returns its workhorse from last season in junior Madison Macy. Macy pitched a team-high 61.2 innings of work last season, producing a 5.56 ERA over 16 games, seven starts. She struck out 17 and walked 15 in the circle and was one of Wheeling's most consistent arms. Wheeling also returns their two leaders in starts last season, Aubrey Lafferty, and Jamie Anderson. Each woman made nine starts and 16 appearances last season while Lafferty led the way with a 5.18 ERA. The pitching staff looks to lead Wheeling again as they get their season under way.
Wheeling faces a tough non-conference schedule before officially kicking off conference play on March 19th. After taking on Salem, the Cardinals will go on two separate trips to Owensboro, Kentucky and Wintersville, Florida for spring training action. With teams like Ashland, The University of Indianapolis, and Cal-U on their schedule, the Cardinals will get plenty of work in before they open the conference portion of their schedule chasing an MEC playoff spot.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Tigers are meeting up for the fourth and fifth times in team history, and the Cardinals have the advantage with a 2-1 record. They have played at Mylan Park in two of the first three games in the series, and Wheeling has generated a lot of offense. The Cardinals are averaging 10 runs per game against the Tigers and have scored 10 or more runs in two of the first three games in the series. In their last doubleheader, Wheeling would split with Salem in last season's season opener.
It was Roman and Ohlestrom leading the way in that doubleheader with each contributing in the games. Ohlestrom had her first home run of the season in game two with a two-run home run, and Roman led the way with four hits in the doubleheader. Wheeling is looking to get the offense going once again as they head into the opening week of the softball season.
The Details
First pitch for Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 12 pm at the Mylan Park Softball field. You can watch the games live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
