Wheeling, W. Va. - With weekend weather set to roll through Charleston, West Virginia on Saturday, the Wheeling University Softball team (9-10, 2-2) has announced changes to its weekend schedule. Their doubleheader against the Golden Eagles will now be played on Friday (3-25) with first pitch scheduled for 3 PM. Also announced as part of their weekend changes is that their doubleheader on Sunday against West Virginia Stae has been moved back an hour with first pitch now scheduled for 2 and 4 PM.
The Cardinals played four games over their opening weekend of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play and split the games going 2-2. They won the first of the two games in each contest, including a walk-off winner in their first game against Notre Dame courtesy of a Gina Fogle RBI double. The Cardinals scored a combined 32 runs in the four games and scored seven or more runs in three of their four contests. Head coach Caressa DeRossett set a goal of averaging seven runs per game, and right now the team is just under that mark at 5.6 runs per game through their first 19 games of the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals in the early going have been a pair of upperclassmen in junior Gina Fogle and sophomore Autumn Oehlstrom. Oehlstrom currently boasts the team's highest batting average at .462, and currently ranks fifth in the conference. She had a big weekend for the Cardinals, going 7-13 (.538) with a home run and nine RBI during the weekend as she has become a force in the middle of the Cardinals lineup. Gina Fogle added another strong effort of her own, providing the walk-off win against Notre Dame and hitting .533 with four RBI.
The Cardinals got their start to Divisional play out of the way last weekend and will play their first opponents from the MEC South this coming weekend. While not directly affecting their standings in their division, these are big conference games that could go a long way in determining Wheeling's playoff fate at the end of the season. As Wheeling continues to gain experience through this season, they look to take down these higher profile opponents as they establish themselves as contenders in the conference.
First pitch for Friday's game in Charleston, West Virginia is scheduled for 3 PM followed by game two at 5 PM.
