Wheeling, W. Va. – After earning their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) win of the season on Saturday, the Wheeling University Softball team (6-32, 2-14) returned to the Highlands on Monday to battle Concord. They carried their momentum from the second game on Sunday into Monday, earning another split with the Mountain Lions to get their sixth win of the season. They picked up a big 5-1 win in the opener and rounded things out with a 4-0 loss in game two to round out a 2-2 weekend.

Game One: Wheeling 5, Concord 1

After some strong pitching performances to start the weekend, that strong pitching continued into game one of Monday's doubleheader. The Cardinals called on Tessa Wise as their day one starter for the second day in a row and started out strong. She gave up a hit to start the game and allowed a walk in the second over her two scoreless innings. Meanwhile, the Cardinal offense got going with two outs in the first as with two outs Anna Florczak got things started with a single. An error would allow Cassie Feyh to reach and put runners on the corners with two away. Madison Kay would step in and lined a clutch two out single to center to bring home Florczak and stake the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead after one inning of play.

Wheeling's bats would just keep on rolling into the second inning when Rayn Cassassa started things off with a single and Makie Paxson followed with a single of her own to put two on and nobody out. Natalie Stoner would follow with a sacrifice bunt to move both runners to scoring position and Chyla Miller would come through with an RBI single to make it a 2-0 game. The next batter was Florczak, who lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Pacson and make it a 3-0 Cardinal advantage. That was more than enough run support for Wise, who continued her success in the circle, wrapping up the complete game effort. She would end up throwing 7.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits while walking three and striking out two. It finished what was a strong weekend for the sophomore that saw her give up four runs in 14 innings of work between the two games.

The Cardinals would reward Wise for her work with a pair of insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Miller would start that fifth inning with a single and a groundout would move the runner to second with one away. Two batters later, Madison Kay would step in and singled up the middle to bring home Miller and extend the Cardinal lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinals would add a much needed insurance run after a one-out single by Natalie Stoner. Chyla Miller followed with a single and a wild pitch would move both runners into scoring position. It would be Florczak who drove home the run with a sacrifice fly and the Cardinals took their lead to 5-1. Tessa Wise would finish the game with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh and the Cardinals went on to win by that score.

Leading the way for the Cardinals offense was Madison Kay, who finished 2-4 with a pair of RBI and a pair of runs scored. For Kay, it was a breakout game as she came through in big situations for the Cardinals throughout the day. Anna Florczak added two RBI of her own on a pair of sacrifice flies and finished 1-2 with a run scored. Chyla Miller rounded out the offense with a three-hit day, finishing 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored as the Cardinals won back-to-back games. They looked for a weekend win heading into the final game of the day and a sweep of the Mountain Cats.

Game Two: Concord 4, Wheeling 0

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cardinals called on their game two winner from Sunday as Ryleigh Peters once again took the circle. After throwing a complete game and allowing twoo runs in Sunday's nightcap, Peters came back just as impressive this time around. She was tagged for an early run in the top of the second, but allowed just that run through the first five innings of play. She has allowed just three earned runs in 12 innings of work, before Concord put some insurance together late that put the game out of reach. In total, the freshman would last 7.0 innings allowing four runs, two earned, on eight hits while walking one and striking out three. For Peters, it was the second straight start in which she allowed two earned runs or less and she continues to be a strong presence in the circle.

Meanwhile, Nancy Jo-Roberts took the circle for Concord and she was just as strong for the Mountain Cats. She also threw a complete-game effort, allowing no runs on just three hits on the day.  The Cardinals bats threatened a few times in the game, but we're unable to push one across. Katie Sare would pick up the team's first hit in the bottom of the 2nd with one out and the Cardinals got their first runner to scoring position in the fifth courtesy of a Chyla Miller double. Sare would also pick up the team's final hit in the bottom of the sixth as the Cardinals tried to rally throughout the day. In the end, the Cardinals earned a split of the day and a split of the weekend as their conference record improves to 2-14 on the season.

Katie Sare paced the Cardinal offense, finishing 2-3 with a pair of singles on the day. Sare has been the top catcher for the Cardinals for a majority of the conference schedule and has helped the Cardinals pitching staff find success. The other hit came down Chyla Miller, who finished 1-3 with the double.

The Wheeling University Softball team returns to action on Wednesday, April 10th, when they host Walsh with first pitch at 3 PM.