Wheeling, W. Va. – Entering Sunday's double header the Wheeling University Softball team (12-40, 8-18) needed. Just one win to clinch their spot in the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Softball tournament. They got the job done early in the day as they earned a split with Point Park and claimed the #4 seed in the MEC North Division. It would be a 13-1 game one win that would secure their spot before they fell 11-3 in game two. L
Game One: Wheeling 13, Point Park 1
It was an early offensive spark that got the Cardinals going in their tournament. Clinching game one. Kaylin Shields would take the ball for the Cardinals and allowed one walk in the first inning. Her offense would give her all the support she needed in the bottom half and it started with Ava Kresak triple. Amber Morgan would follow and lifted a two-run home run to center field as the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead. The fun would continue as Brooklyn Sanders and Maria Clark reached on back-to-back singles followed by an error that allowed Kaylin Shields to reach and load the bases. Keke Warrix would bring home the third run of the inning on a fielder's choice, but Shields would beat the throw to Second to keep the bases loaded with just one out.
Grace Mummery would pick up both of those runners in scoring position with a two RBI double and the Cardinals would extend their lead to 4-0. 2 hours later Chyla Miller stepped in with two outs and two runners in scoring position. She would bring home both with a two-RBI double, but was thrown out trying to advance to third. It would give the Cardinals a 6-0 lead and they were just getting started. In the second inning it was Morgan who got things started with a one out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Maria Clark brought her home with a two-out RBI single and the Cardinal's lead was pushed to 7-0. The Cardinals would score for the third straight inning in the bottom of the third after Warrix singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Two batters later, Denise Carrillo would knock her in with an RBI single that pushed the lead to 8-0. Miller would then be hit by a pitch and Kresak singled to bring up Morgan in another big spot what the base is loaded and one out. She would come through with a single to right field to bring home both Carrillo and Miller. A pop out would go down as the second out in the inning but Morgan stole second to get into scoring position. Wheeling would have one more big hit in them as Clark brought home both runners with an RBI single and the Cardinals lead 12-0 after three innings. Point Park get on the board in the top of the 4th, but the Cardinals got that run back in the bottom half of the inning on a on a Miller RBI ground out that made it 13-1.
Lost in all the offense was another strong pitching performance from Shields. The Freshman toed The circle in the top of the 5th with the eight-run rule in effect and retired the Pioneers, allowing just a double in a scoreless frame. It secured her eighth win of the season as she threw 5.0 innings allowing one unearned run on two hits while walking one and striking out seven. With the win, The Cardinals officially clinched the #4 seed in the MEC North Division, punching their ticket to the MEC tournament for the first time since the 2018 season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Amber Morgan, who finished a perfect 3-3 with a home run, four RBI, and three runs scored. It was her second home run of the season, tying her for second on the team, That got the scoring started in the big win for the Cardinals. Maria Clark would also finish 3-3 on the day driving in three RBI, while Chyla Miller added a 1-2 day With a double, a run scored, and three RBI. Rounding out the Cardinal offense was Denise Carrillo, Grace Mummery, and Keke Warrix, who each finished with an RBI on the day. The Cardinals would look for the sweep in game two to help continue their momentum into the postseason.
Game Two: Point Park 11, Wheeling 3
In game two, Head Coach Mallory Chapman would go back to Kaylin Shields In the circle after her strong game one performance. She would give you a run in the top of the first as Point Park took a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals would get that run back in the bottom of the second. Grace Mummery would be the one to get things started with a one-out double, and with two outs she would remain at second for Chyla Miller. Miller was able to knock her home with an RBI single that tied the game at 1-1. However, Point Park came to the plate in the top of the third and would get right back out in front with a three-run home run that just cleared the center field wall and gave Point Park a 4-1 lead.
Maria Clark would step in and worked her way out of trouble and was able to hold the Pioneers there for the next two innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Keke Warrix would get hit by a pitch to start the inning and she stole second and got her way into scoring position. Mummery would ground out to move the runner to third and Denise Carrillo would bring Warrix home with a groundout that had the Cardinals within two runs at 4-2. That score would stand until the top of the sixth, when Point Park broke out for five runs and extended their lead to 9-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Cardinals would come to the plate and would battle back with a one-out single from Shields. Katelyn Kozlowski would pinch run for her and got into scoring position on a Warrix ground-out.
Mummery would step up with an RBI chance and would bring home Kozlowski with an RBI single that made it a 9-3 game. Point Park would close out the game with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh and, despite the Cardinals getting a two-out single from Kresak in the bottom of the seventh, the game would come to a close with Point Park earning the split with an 11-3 win. Shields would start the game, throwing 2.1 allowing four runs, two earned, on three hits while striking out a batter and Clark would add 4.2 innings allowing seven runs, two earned, on 10 hits while walking two and striking out one. However, the Cardinals would commit seven errors on the day and would eventually sink them in the second game.
Leading the offense for the Cardinals was Grace Mummery, who finished 2-3 with an RBI in the effort. She was the only Cardinal to collect a multi-hit game on the day as she wrapped up a strong day on offense. The Cardinals would get four more hits from four different players with Ava Kresak, Kaylin Shields, Brooklyn Sanders, and Chyla Miller each picking up hits on the day. Denise Carrillo and Miller would each drive in an RBI as the offense rounded out its big day.
The Wheeling University Softball team will kick-off 2025 MEC Tournament play on Wednesday, April 30th, when they take on the #1 seed from the MEC South Glenville State, with first pitch scheduled for 2:30 PM.
