Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Softball team (7-39, 5-23) wrap up the home portion of their schedule on Thursday as they enter the final week of the 2023 Mountain East Conference (MEC) regular season. They will host Notre Dame College at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex as they take the time to honor their seniors for their hard work and service to the program with first pitch scheduled for 3 PM. Jenee Brodeur, Mia Smallwood, and Abby Bumbico will be honored before the day's festivities as the team looks to send them off on a high note.
Last time out, the Cardinals took on Fairmont State on Sunday and battled in two tough games, falling by a combined two runs as they took a doubleheader sweep. Game one featured a pitcher's duel with just two runs being scored over the game's first four innings as the Cardinals found themselves down 2-0. Wheeling would get on the board in the top of the sixth, but it wasn't enough as they fell 2-1 to start the day and would look for a split. Game two had a bit more offense and saw both offenses heat up, with Wheeling getting out to a 1-0 lead early. Despite the Cardinals getting four on the board, it wouldn't be enough as a pair of two-spots in the fifth and sixth inning were enough for the Falcons to take a 5-4 victory.
After not seeing a lot of time in the beginning of the season, junior Cassie Feyh has come on strong lately and enters Friday with a six-game hitting streak. Over those six games, she is hitting .578 (11-19) with two home runs and four RBI during that stretch, with all of her home runs and RBI coming during the past weekend road trip. She has raised her average to .393 this season and is just a few at-bats away from being eligible to lead the team in batting average. She has been a big pick-me-up over at first base and has been a consistent presence in the middle of the Cardinal batting order and looks to continue that success down the stretch.
In the circle, the Cardinals have gotten a strong showing as of late from freshman pitcher Maria Clark, who has a team-low 7.04 ERA entering the weekend. Her latest outing came against Fairmont State in game one of their doubleheader, where she threw the ball well in the early going allowing just two earned runs over 3.1 innings of work. She has not allowed more than two earned runs in a game in each of her last three starts, spanning 10.1 innings of work. She has a 3.48 ERA over that span and has dropped her overall ERA by just over a full point. Clark will likely get the ball again for the Cardinals this weekend as she looks to finish her strong freshman season.
Even though they are out of the race for the MEC Tournament entering the final week of play, the Cardinals could still play the spoiler role in their final home doubleheader. Notre Dame College sits as the #2 seed out of the MEC North entering play but are just one game ahead of Frostburg State for the #3 seed. If Wheeling can rattle off a pair of wins on Thursday, they could knock Notre Dame College down and affect the matchups in the first round of the tournament. With these final four games, the Cardinals are looking to end the season strong and affect the tournament seeding while they are at it.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons will be meeting for the 38th and 39th times in program history and the 3rd and 4th times this season. Wheeling leads the all-time series with a record of 22-15 while Notre Dame College leads the season series at 2-0. When they play in Wheeling, the Cardinals have gone 11-7 against Notre Dame and have won three of the last five meetings at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. Runs have come in bunches during the series, with the Cardinals averaging 4.38 runs per game in the series.
In their first meeting of the year, Notre Dame College earned a sweep in South Euclid, Ohio, winning by scores of 7-6 and 13-5. Game one was a walk-off win for the Falcons and saw Maddie Munoz lead the way with a 3-4 day with a double, a triple, and two RBI. In the second game, the Cardinals were once again led by Munoz, who added another three-hit effort going 3-4 with a double to round out her day.
The Details
First pitch for Thursday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 PM at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
