Winter Haven, FL. – The Wheeling University Softball team (1-11, 0-0) continued their annual spring trip on Tuesday, looking to build off the day one split. They faced a pair of tough opponents in Concordia St. Paul and Clarion, but ended up dropping both games to fall to 1-3 so far on the trip. Game one saw the Cardinals fall to the Lions 8-1 and then they came back in game two to fall to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent Clarion 8-3.

Game One: Concordia St. Paul 8, Wheeling 1

The first game of the day was the Cardinal' s earliest of the week as they took on Concordia St. Paul in the 9 AM game. After a scoreless first inning, the Cardinals would build off their momentum, getting on the board in the top of the second. Jenna Hollerich would single to start the inning and moved up on a wild pitch to put a runner on second with nobody out. The next batter struck out, but the dropped third strike moved Hollerich to third with one out. Madison George then stepped up and drove a single to right field to bring home Hollerich and make it a 1-0 Cardinal lead. The Cardinals led 1-0 after an inning and a half. However, the Lions would tack on four runs in the bottom of the second and Wheeling would trail 4-1.

Tessa Wise would get the start and after the clean first was pulled in the bottom of the second. She finished with 1.2 innings of work, allowing four runs on four hits while walking one and striking out two. The Cardinals would then turn to their bullpen and Abby Bumbico stepped into the circle. She came in and cooled down the fire, getting the final out of the second and added two more clean frames in the fourth and fifth. She would allow just one more run on the day, coming in the bottom of the sixth and she would exit with two outs. Bumbico allowed just the one run over 3.0 innings of work on one hit while walking a batter. Jamie Anderson would throw the final 1.1 innings and was tagged for three runs, one earned, on three hits while striking out one.

Meanwhile, the offense couldn't put up any more runs after the second and had just two more hits on the day. The Cardinals got a runner in scoring position in two of the final five innings of the game, including the bottom of the seventh. They got Hollerich to third once again with one out, but this time a double play would end things and the Cardinals fell 8-1. Madison George led the way, going 2-3 with a double and an RBI across three at-bats. Jenna Hollerich and Leah Klockowski came up with the final two hits to round out the day. The Cardinals headed into game two looking to duplicate their day two performance and earn a sweep of the day.

Game Two: Clarion 8, Wheeling 3

Game two started with both offenses scoring in the first inning. Clarion got on the board first with two first inning runs, but the Cardinals responded in a big way in the bottom of the first. Makie Paxson walked to start the inning and Maddie Munoz followed with a single to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Madison George would double home the first run of the inning and Brooke Slomkowski followed with an RBI single that made it a 2-2 game. After a lineout was the first out of the inning, the third run of the inning scored on a Fielder's Choice by Jenna Hollerich and staked Wheeling to a 3-2 lead after one. Starter Maria Clark was pitching with the lead for the first time in the day and took advantage.

She threw up three straight zeroes from the second to the fifth inning, allowing just one hit during that time. She struck out one batter during that time and headed into the top of the fifth with her team still leading 3-2. However, the Golden Eagles would not be held down for long as they came back to score two more runs in the top of the fifth and retake the lead at 4-3. That would be the end of the day for Clark, who would throw 5.0 innings allowing four runs on five hits while walking two and striking out two. Randi Holder and Jenee Brodeur would split the final two innings of work, with Holder being charged with four runs, three earned, on four hits while striking out one, while Brodeur three a scoreless top of the seventh.

The offense had success early, scoring three quick runs, but were held off the board the rest of the way. Madison George and Maddie Munoz each finished with multi-hit efforts in the day, with George going 2-3 with an RBI while Maddie Munoz went 2-4. Brooke Slomkowski added the final RBI of the day, going 1-2 while Natalie Stoner finished the offense with a 1-3 showing.

The Wheeling University Softball team is off on Wednesday, but will continue their Florida trip on Thursday, March 9th, when they take on The College of St. Rose and Trevecca Nazarene University.