Columbus, OH. – With Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on the horizon, the Wheeling University Softball team (3-17, 0-0) returned back north on Wednesday. They hit the road for their final preseason non-conference doubleheader as they traveled to Ohio Dominican University. The Cardinals showed power, hitting two home runs on the day, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Panthers 9-1 and 8-4.

Game One: Ohio Dominican 9, Wheeling 1

As the Cardinals started the doubleheader, freshman Ryleigh Peters would get the start and started things strong with a scoreless top of the first. Ohio Dominican would get on the board in the bottom of the second with the first run of the game and in the top of the third the Cardinals would even the score. With one out, Kelsi Green would single to give the Cardinal's their first base runner of the afternoon. Natalie Stoner would then lay down a sacrifice bunt that moved the runner to scoring position, and Jenna Hollerich would walk to put runners on first and second with two outs. Grace Mummery would then step in and sent a ball on the ground to shortstop An error would allow Mummery to reach and Green to come home from second to make it a 1-1 game.

However, Ohio Dominican would add three more runs in the bottom of the inning and made it a 4-1 game. In the next inning, the Panthers would add two more runs and brought the Cardinals to the plate trying to stay alive. Rayn Cassassa would start things off reaching on an error and would move to scoring position with one out. However, they would not be able to push the run across and the score remained 8-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth. A home run by the Panther's Holland was enough to enact the mercy rule as Ohio Dominican went on to win 9-1. Peters would end up pitching the complete game effort for the Cardinals, lasting 4.0 innings allowing nine runs on 12 hits while walking one. It was Peter's second complete game effort of the season as she continues through her freshman season.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Kelsi Green, who finished 1-1 with a run scored to lead the effort. The other hit came courtesy of Jenna Hollerich, who finished 1-2 and reached base twice via a walk. The lone RBI of the day came courtesy of Grace Mummery, who drove in a run via an error that brought home the lone Cardinal run of the day. Wheeling would look to earn a split as they headed up in game two.

Game Two: Ohio Dominican 8, Wheeling 4

In the second game of the day, the Cardinals showed their power right away as they started in the top of the first. Natalie Stoner would leadoff the game and sent a solo shot to center field as the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead. Stoner would hit her first home run of the season and the Cardinals were on the board first for the fourth time in the last six games. Jenna Hollerich would follow with a single and a fielder's choice would leave the Cardinals with a runner on first and one out. Cassie Feyh followed with A single that moved runners to first and third and Feyh would steal second. Anna Florczak would be hit by a pitch to load the bases and two batters later, Brooke Slomkowski came to the plate. She reached on an error and Mummery would score to give Wheeling a 2-0 lead.

Randi Holder would get the start with two runs of support and early on would stand strong in the circle. She gave up one run in the bottom of the first, but was able to keep it a 2-1 Cardinal lead entering the bottom of the third. Ohio Dominican would add four more runs in that inning as they extended their lead to 6-1 before the Cardinals got back on the board. Slomkowski would step up in the top of the fourth and got one of those runs back with a solo home run that made it a 5-3 game. It was Slomkowski's first home run of the season and was the Cardinal's second home run of the game. However, a three-spot from Ohio Dominican in the bottom of the fourth made it an 8-3 game. The Cardinal's final run of the game would come in the top of the fifth after Hollerich started the inning with a single.

Mummery would follow with a single of her own and an infield fly would keep runners where they were at first and second with one out. Anna Florczak would single up the middle as Hollerich scored and made it an 8-4 affair. Like in the first game, the Cardinals would stick with their starter throughout as Holder would work the complete game effort. She finished throwing 6.0 innings of work, allowing eight runs, on 15 hits while walking one and striking out one. The Cardinals would battle through seven innings and tried to stay alive in the top of the seventh with a lesdoff double by Feyh. Two batters later, and error allowed Chyla Miller to reach and put runners at the corners, but that was as far as things would get as the Cardinals fell by the final score of 8-4.
The Cardinals were led on the day by Brooke Slomkowski, who finished 1-4 with two RBI and a run scored. It was her first home run of the season and was one of two home runs for the Cardinals on thr day. The other home run on the day came from Natalie Stoner, who finished 1-4 with a home run and an RBI of her own. The final RBI would come from Anna Florczak, who finished 1-3 with an RBI on the day.

The Wheeling University Softball team returns to action on Saturday, March 16th, when they host Salem at 1 PM.