Wheeling, W. Va. - After spending a week in the warmer weather down south, the Wheeling University Softball team is back in Wheeling and making a final push towards Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. They wrap up their preseason non-conference schedule on Wednesday when they hit the road to face Ohio Dominican in doubleheader action with first pitch at 2 PM. The Cardinals look to get back in the win column before their open up their conference slate in their first game at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex this weekend.
The Cardinals wrapped up their spring trip last time out when they battled Kings University in doubleheader action. The Cardinals were going against one of the top teams in the nation and battled throughout the afternoon. They faced a tough pitching matchup in the first game, where they battled to pick up three hits on the day. They pushed across a run in the top of the fifth as they tried to stay alive but fell 16-1. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cardinals got on the board first for the third time in the last four games with a run in the top of the first. They would push across five runs in the game across five innings but fell 23-5 to wrap up the annual spring trip.
It was another big day for senior Cassie Feyh, who finished 4-5 with two RBI and a run scored across the two games. Feyh drove in both runs as part of the five-run outburst in game two of the day when she picked up a two RBI single. Feyh has been the team's top run producer this season, driving in 13 RBI across 18 games, while also leading with a .472 batting average. She currently sits seventh in the MEC in batting average and 10th in the conference in RBI. She has multiple hits in nine of her 18 games played this season and looks to continue as a leader out of the number three spot in batting order as they prepare for MEC play.
In the circle, the Cardinals have had their ups and downs this season but got strong work out of freshman Cameron Enos. Enos threw one of two scoreless outings for the Cardinals during their spring trip and wrapped up the game against Carson-Newman with 1.1 scoreless innings. Enos has made two appearances for the Cardinals this season, throwing 2.0 innings while walking three and striking out two. Leading the Cardinal's pitching staff this season has been Maria Clark, who has posted an 8.01 ERA over 32.1 innings of work. She has allowed three earned runs or less in five of her 11 appearances and looks to get going as they head into conference play.
Head Softball Coach Mallory Chapman has had her team facing tough competition both in region and out of region over the first month of the season. It was all in preparation for what they would face once they got to conference play and began the run towards the MEC Tournament. The offense has been a source of strength for the Cardinals throughout the season and they currently sit fifth in the conference with a .295 batting average. They sit just four points away from getting into the top three of the conference and look to keep hitting the ball as they begin conference play this weekend.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Panthers will be meeting for the sixth time in program history on Wednesday, with the Panthers leading the all-time series with a record of 4-1. It will be the second time the two teams have met for a road doubleheader, with Ohio Dominican holding a 2-0 record on their home field with the Cardinals averaging 2.6 runs per game. The Cardinals dropped their first four games to Ohio Dominican, before picking up their first ever win against the Panthers last month.
That win came in the second half of last season's doubleheader, with Wheeling picking up a 10-9 win in the second game. In that game, the Cardinals were led by a pair of three RBI efforts from Jenna Hollerich, who finished 2-3, and former Cardinal Leah Klockowski, who added a 2-3 effort of her own. Brooke Slomkowski would drive in two runs to round out the big day for the Cardinal offense.
The Details
First pitch for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 2 PM at Panther Field on the campus of Ohio Dominican University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
