Wheeling, W. Va- After a long off-season, the Wheeling University Softball team (0-0, 0-0) is set to open the 2026 season this weekend. They get the year started with the first-ever edition of "The Highlands Classic",which is a three-day tournament hosted at the Highlands Sports complex, featuring hosts Wheeling and West Liberty, along with Findlay, IUP, the University of Indianapolis, and Lake Erie College.  

Wheeling will open their season tomorrow at 12:30pm against UINDY. The Greyhounds are 10-0 against the Cardinals since 2015, with their last matchup dating back to last year on February 13th. UINDY won 14-0 in game one and 11-2 in game two as Keke Warrix hit a triple to bring home Amber Morgan. Then, Ava Kresak popped out in the infield that allowed Warrix to come home.  

The Cardinals will dig into the batter's box against IUP on Saturday at 5:30pm. The Crimson Hawks have an 8-2 overall record against the Cards with the most recent meeting coming on February 15th, 2024, when IUP won 12-3 in the first game and 19-8 in the second. Madison Kay would hit a home run in the first inning of each game. 

Sunday marks the final day of "The Highlands Classic" and Wheeling will play Findlay at 12:30 pm and then Lake Erie College at 5:30 pm. The Oilers have a 3-1 record over the Cardinals. However, the last time the two met was all the way back on March 4th, 2020, in Winter Haven, Florida. In that contest, Findlay won 7-2. Against Lake Erie College, Wheeling is 5-5 against The Storm with their last meeting being even further back on March 2nd, 2017, when the Cardinals squeezed out a 2-1 victory.  

The tournament will be streamed live on the Mountain East Digital Network by West Liberty HERE, and Live Stats will be recorded by Wheeling HERE.