Wheeling, W. Va. – After a day off in the Florida sun on Wednesday, the Wheeling University Softball team (1-13, 0-0) returned to the diamond on Thursday. They continued their spring trip and ended up dropping a pair of games as they move to 1-5 so far on the trip. They fell in game one to the College of St. Rose 5-2 and followed it up with a close loss to Trevecca Nazarene 3-2 to round out the day.

Game One: College of St. Rose 5, Wheeling 2

Game one of the day saw the Cardinals looking to get back on track after the off day. Jamie Anderson took the mound and, through the first three innings of play, she was hitting on all cylinders. She faced just three batters in the first and picked up her first 1-2-3 inning in the third. She allowed just one hit over the first three innings and looked very much in control. However, the Cardinals bats were having just as hard of a time getting going, and things were tied at 0-0 after three innings. However, in the top of the fourth, St. Rose had their bats wake up as they put a five-spot on the board. Anderson would be pulled from the game and finished with 3.0 innings of work allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits while striking out one.

The Cardinals would look to respond in the bottom of the inning, and got things started when Jenna Hollerich reached on a Fielder's Choice. She advanced to second on an error and Leah Klockowski would follow with a Hit By Pitch. Kelsi Green would follow with a single to load the bases and Candela Garcia Cabedo would step in. She would draw a bases loaded walk and made it a 5-1 game. However, two fly outs would end the inning and the game would sit at 5-1. The score would remain 5-1 until the bottom of the seventh as the Cardinals came up for their final at-bats. A sac bunt and a groundout moved the runner to third with two outs and Maddie Munoz would reach on an error to bring the run home and make it a 5-2 game. That would be the final run scored as Wheeling dfell 5-2 to drop to 0-1 on the day.

Anna Florczak would lead the offense with the only two-hit game of the day, going 2-3. Candela Gracia Cabedo would add a 1-2 effort and drove in the lone RBI with a walk. Jenna Hollerich and Maddie Munoz each added hits on the day to round out the offense. The Cardinals would look to bounce back and try for a split of the day in their second game of the day.

Game Two: Trevecca Nazarene 3, Wheeling 2

The second game of the day saw another strong pitching performance as Randi Holder made her second start of the trip. It would be the Cardinals offense that got on the board first, capitalizing in the top of the fourth. Neither team had been able to get on the board to that point and Makie Paxson would start the inning reaching base on an error. The Cardinals would get their first run when Maddie Munoz stepped to the plate and drove an RBI triple to center to score Paxson and make it a 1-0 game. Madison George would follow with an RBI double that brought home Munoz and the Cardinals were staked to their biggest lead of the day at 2-0. They held that lead after four and needed just three more innings to secure the win.

Holder was dominant in the circle early on, not allowing her first hit of the day until the bottom of the third and had 1-2-3 innings in both the first and second innings. It wasn't until the fifth inning that she was scored upon, giving up a two-out RBI triple that made it a 2-1 game. In the bottom of the sixth, Holder allowed two more runs before her day came to an end. She threw 5.1 innings of work allowing three runs on six hits while walking two and striking out one. Jenee Brodeur would finish out the day, throwing the final two outs and allowing one hit while walking a batter. The Cardinals would threaten with two runners in scoring position with two outs, but a flyout would end the inning. The Cardinals would fall 3-2 and ended up dropping both games on the day.

Madison George and Maddie Munoz each finished 1-3 with an RBI as they led the offense. Brooke Slomkowski and Jenna Hollerich would add the final two hits of the day to round out the order. Although she did not get a hit in game two, Anna Florczak led the way for the Cardinals finishing a combined 2-5 on the day.

The Wheeling University Softball team concluded their spring trip on Friday when they take on Lock Haven and Seton Hill at 2 and 4:30 PM.