Wheeling, W. Va. - With a new look team on Thursday afternoon, the Wheeling University Softball team (0-2, 0-0) opened the 2025 season from the Highlands Sports Complex. They would welcome in the University of Indianapolis for doubleheader action as they battled one of the top teams in the country. The Cardinals would drop both halves of the doubleheader action, falling to the Greyhounds 14-0 in game one and 11-2 in game two, but had some strong glimpses in each game.
Game One: UINDY 14, Wheeling 0
Wheeling would take the field in game one behind their veteran pitcher in junior Maria Clark, who made her 2025 debut. In the top of the first, she retired the first two hitters of the game on four pitches before giving up a two-out, two-run home run that made it 2-0 in favor of the Greyhounds. After allowing another two-out single, Clark would keep the deficit at two and send the Cardinals to the bat racks for the first time. Wheeling would make a splash early as Amber Morgan kicked things off with a hit by pitch and was replaced by KeKe Warrix on a fielder's choice. However, the next three Cardinals would be set down in order and it remained a 2-0 game heading into the second inning.
That is when the Greyhounds would blow the game open, scoring eight runs in the inning and turning a 2-0 deficit into a 10-0 game in a half inning. Clark's day would come to an end during that inning, as she went 1.2 innings allowing eight runs, five earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out two. Kearstin Monday would come in relief and allowed three more runs before bringing the inning to a close. It would be Monday who threw the final 3.1 innings of work and she helped minimize innings throughout the day. She would finish trowing 3.1 innings of work allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits while walking three and striking out two.
The Cardinal offense had a tough day facing UINDY's top pitcher in Cheyenne Eads, who finished the five-inning no hitter. After allowing the leadoff base runner in the first, Eads would allow just two more base runners the rest of the day. The Cardinals got one runner into scoring position in the effort when Warrix walked to start the bottom of the fourth. She would steal second during the next at-bat but end up being stranded. With the score sitting at 14-0 in favor of UINDY, the Cardinals came to the bat racks one more time in the bottom of the fifth, but would go 1-2-3 to end the effort.
KeKe Warrix was the lone Cardinal to reach base twice in the game, reaching on a walk and a fielder's choice, finishing 0-1. Amber Morgan would be the other Cardinal to reach base, leading off the game with a hit by pitch and finishing her day 0-1 in the Cardinal's leadoff spot. Wheeling would look for a bounce back as they headed into their second game of the day.
Game Two: UINDY 11, Wheeling 2
After being no-hit in the first game of the day, the Cardinals were looking for a bounce-back effort in game two as they tried to earn the split. Junior Tessa Wise would get the start for the Cardinals and things didn't go well as she allowed six runs in the first inning. She would give way to Tasiana Taufahema, who finished out the inning, and the Cardinals found themselves behind 6-0. However, the Cardinals would come to the plate with some more firepower in the bottom of the first as Amber Morgan got things started with a leadoff single. It would serve as the team's first official hit of the 2025 season and once they got started their first run would be soon to follow.
The next batter was KeKe Warrix who stepped up and sent a scalding line drive to the left-center field gap that would roll all the way to the wall. Morgan would come around to score from first and Warrix slid into third with an RBI triple. Ava Kresak then stepped in and got into a battle of her own, with the count going to 3-2. It would be Kresak who would win the at-bat, sending a fly ball to left field that scored Warrix from third and made it a 6-2 game. UINDY got one of those two runs back in the top of the second, but Taufahema would allow just the one run, followed by a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third. It was the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Cardinals and the freshman pitcher would finish out what was an impressive Cardinal debut.
She would throw the game's final 4.2 innings of work, allowing six runs, three earned, on six hits while walking six and striking out six. She would limit the damage in innings, allowing no more than two runs in any of the innings that she worked. However, heading into the fifth, the Cardinals were facing the eight-run rule, but had one more push in them. Denise Carrillo would start the inning with a single, and Morgan followed with a hit of her own to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Two batters later, Kresak would pick up her first hit of the day with a single and the bases were loaded with two outs. The Cardinals needed to push across two runs to keep the game alive, but the final two batters would end up striking out, bringing the game to its final score of 11-2.
The Cardinals were led by Ava Kresak, who finished 1-2 with an RBI in the effort, driving in her first run of the season. KeKe Warrix would get the lone extra base hit for the team, finishing 1-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Amber Morgan had the first multi-hit game of the season, going 2-3. Denise Carrillo would round out the offense, going 1-1 in the #9 hole to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Softball team will return to action on Tuesday, February 18th, when they hit the road to face Seton Hill at noon.
