Salem, W. Va. - After opening the Mountain East Conference (MEC) portion of their schedule on Saturday, the Wheeling University Softball team (3-18, 0-2) returned to non-conference action with the first of two doubleheaders against Salem University. The Cardinal offense would account for eight runs across the two games, but the Tigers offense was too much to contain as the Cardinals fell in both games. They dropped game one 11-3 and fell just short in a game two come from behind effort to end the weekend.
Game One: Salem 11, Wheeling 3
The Cardinals would turn to their ace in game one of the day as Kaylin Shields took the circle for the Cardinals and had success early on. She would retire Salem 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first and her offense would respond in the top of the second. Maria Clark would start the inning with a double and Grace Mummery was hit by a pitch to put two runners on and nobody out. Priscilla Villareal would lay down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position, and Keke Warrix would knock them both in with a two-RBI double. Denise Carrillo would be hit by a pitch to get a second runner on base, but the Cardinals would strand two on and ended the top of the second with a 2-0 lead. However, Salem would respond with seven runs in the bottom of the second inning, spelling the end of the day for Shields.
Shields finished the day throwing an inning of work allowing four runs, one earned, on four hits and was relieved by Jackie Cappers. Cappers would finish the second inning, being plagued by errors in the field that allowed her to go an inning, giving up three unearned runs on three hits while walking two. As they headed to the top of the third, the Cardinals would get one of those runs back after Amber Morgan doubled to start the inning. She would come home the very next batter as Brooklyn Sanders picked up an RBI single that would make it a 7-3 game. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Cardinals would get as Salem added four more runs over the next three innings, inacting the five-run rule to end the game in the bottom of the fifth.
Finishing out the game for the Cardinals in the circle was Tasiana Taufahema, who threw the final 2.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits while striking out two. The offense was led by another big day from Amber Morgan, who finished 3-3 with a run scored in the effort. KeKe Warrix would drive in two of her team's three runs, finishing 1-2 with a double, while Brooklyn Sanders added a 1-2 day with a walk and an RBI of her own. The Cardinals would look to bounce back as they headed into game two.
Game Two: Salem 9, Wheeling 5
In the second game of the day, the Cardinals offense would get going early once again, scoring a run in the top of the first. With two outs, Maria Clark would step to the plate and belted her first home run of the year to get the Cardinals out to a 1-0 lead. Wheeling would get another runner in scoring position, with Madison Kay following with a double, but the Cardinals were staked to a 1-0 lead after a half inning. Behind the support of her own bat, Clark would head out to the circle and responded with a 1-2-3- bottom of the first to keep the Cardinals ahead 1-0 after one. The Tigers would tie the game with a run in the bottom of the second, and responded with a run in the third and two runs in the fourth as they quickly built a 4-2 advantage.
The Cardinals were back on the board in the top of the fifth, when Clark lifted her second home run of the game to make it a 4-2 affair. It was Clark's first career multi-home run game and, after two more Salem runs made it a 6-2 game, the Cardinal offense continued their push into the sixth. Priscilla Villareal would lead off the sixth with a walk and was pinch ran for by Rayn Casassa. Two batters later, Amber Morgan would single and Keke Warrix would bring both runners home with a two-RBI triple. Clark followed with a walk and Kylea Chapple would run for her and steal second base to put two in scoring position. Tasiana Taufahema would step in and brought home Warrix with an RBI groundout, getting the Cardinals to within one at 6-5. However, Salem answered with three of their own in the bottom of the sixth, and a 1-2-3 top of the seventh brought the game to its final score a t9-5.
Leading the way for the Cardinals both at the plate and in the circle was Maria Clark, who finished 2-2 with a pair of home runs, two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored. In the circle, she added 6.0 innings of work while giving up nine runs, five earned, on eight hits while walking four and striking out one. KeKe Warrix added a 1-4 effort with a triple, two RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Amber Morgan put up two hits, and Tasiana Taufahema added the final RBI.
The Wheeling University Softball team returns to action on Wednesday, March 19th, when they hit the road to play Slippery Rock with first pitch at 3 PM.
