Wheeling, W. Va. - After spending the week in the sunshine of Florida, the Wheeling University Softball team (3-9, 0-0) is back in the Ohio Valley and preparing for the final week of non-conference action. They will kick-off that week of play on Tuesday, when they open the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex for the spring season with doubleheader action against Walsh at 2 PM. The Cardinals are coming off a strong week of games, seeing them go 2-6 in the sunshine state, and they look to continue building momentum on their home field.
Wheeling wrapped up their spring break action on Saturday with a trip to Lakeland, Florida, where they took on Florida Southern College. The first game of the doubleheader action would see the Cardinals jump out in front early, after keeping the Mocs off the board in the bottom of the first. Wheeling would put up a two-spot in the top of the second thanks to a two-run home run, and held a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the second. However, Florida Southern's offense would find their groove, scoring seven runs over the next three innings, and they went on to win 9-2. Game two of the day was a classic pitcher's duel, with Wheeling keeping Florida Southern within striking distance. However, three runs in the first three innings of play was enough to lift the Mocs to victory, as they earned a 3-0 win and swept the doubleheader.
Leading the offensive push for the Cardinals was Priscilla Villareal, who hit .357 (5-19) across the eight game stretch in the sunshine state. She wrapped it up with her best performance yet against Florida Southern, combining to go 2-5 with a home run and two RBI across the two games. She was the one who would give Wheeling the early lead against Florida Southern in game one, when she stepped up and sent her first career home run over the left field wall, It gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead and served as the capper to a big week for the junior. She raised her batting average to .300 for the season, making her one of three Cardinals with a .300 or better batting average on the team, and she enters Tuesday's doubleheader riding a three-game hitting streak.
In the circle, it was a dominant week of action for Maria Clark, who came through when her team needed her against Florida Southern. With the Mocs holding a 3-0 lead, Clark would come in and settle things down, throwing 3.2 innings of work allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out one. Like Villareal, it was the capper of a strong week for Clark, with the senior holding a 1.06 ERA across five appearances, three starts. Wheeling's offensive leader so far has been Mackenzie Burns, who is hitting .438 across 32 at-bats over her first 12 games. Burns would finish 2-3 in game one against Florida Southern, and finished the week 7-20 (.350) across the eight-games played. Burns leads the team with five RBI on the season and looks to continue to be a run producer in the middle of the lineup.
As the Cardinals continue through their non-conference stretch, the team is tied for their best 12-game start since the 2024 season. The Cardinals have challenged themselves so far, and are looking to build off their home success from a season ago. Of their 12 wins on the season, seven of those would come at their home field, where they held a 7-17 record a season ago. As they head full throttle into their March schedule, the Cardinals will be at their home field for eight of the next 12 games, with the exception of the Mountain East Conference (MEC)/Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover this weekend. Wheeling looks to get their momentum going on their home field before diving into conference play on March 18th.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Cavaliers will be meeting for the 12th and 13th times in program history on Tuesday, with Walsh leading the all-time series at 8-3. The Cardinals have split the home meetings between the teams, going 1-1, and have gone 2-3 in their last five meetings with Walsh. The Cardinals are averaging 2.91 runs per game in the all-time series, and have scored three or more runs in three of the last six meetings between the two teams.
The last meeting would come on March 12th, 2025, in a doubleheader that was split by the two programs, with Wheelign winning the first game 3-0, following by a 12-4 win for Walsh in game two. Game one was led by Maria Clark, who finished 2-4 with a pair of RBI, while Kaylin Shields through 7.0 shutout innings in the circle for the complete game. Game two would be led by another 1-3 effort with an RBI for Clark, while Brook Sanders drove in a pair of runs with a walk and a sacrifice fly.
The Details
First pitch for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 2 PM inside the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
