Wheeling, W. Va- After a six-game road trip, the Wheeling University Softball team (8-28), (3-11) hosted the Concord Mountain Lions for a pair of Mountain East Conference (MEC) matchups. The visitors came away with a 7-4 win in game one despite the Cardinals threatening a late game comeback. However, the real story came from game two: the Cards were locked up with the Mountain Lions all game long and it was not until the ninth frame of extra innings when KeKe Warrix smacked the game winning RBI-double to win game two by a final score of 2-1.
Game One: Concord- 7 Wheeling- 4
The Mountain Lions opened the first inning with a two-RBI home run to jump out to a 2-0 lead. However, the Cardinals were quick to respond. After back-to-back singles by Madison Kay and Kaylin Shields, Maria Clark hit a pop out to the outfield, which allowed Kay to cross the plate and cut the deficit to one by the end of the inning. Concord earned a walk and a double in the top of the third. Then, they all touched home plate when the Mountain Lions homered again to make it a 5-1 game. They continued to add to their lead in the top of the fourth when they managed to get two more runners home for a 7-1 lead by the end of the fourth.
Wheeling held Concord scoreless for the remainder of the contest, which allowed them to generate some offense of their own. KeKe Warrix got a hit off and worked her way around the basepaths to third. Following a throwing error by the Concord shortstop, Warrix made a run for the plate and crossed successfully, making it 7-2 at the end of the fifth. The Cardinal offense picked back up in the seventh when Taylor Walsh made contact with the first pitch of the at-bat for a single. Brook Sanders hit a single and kept running to second after another throwing error by the Mountain Lions. She was subbed out for Rayn Casassa, and after a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch, both her and Walsh scored for a final score of 7-4.
Taylor Walsh picked up two hits on three at-bats while Madison Kay went 2-4. Kaylin Shields, Brook Sanders, and KeKe Warrix all recorded a hit each. Maria Clark led with two RBIs. Shields pitched 3.2 innings and racked up three strikeouts and was given the loss. Tasiana Taufahema came in as relief and pitched 3.1 inning.
Game Two: Wheeling- 2 Concord- 1
The second contest of the afternoon seemed to fly by, at least the first five innings of it. Both teams showed great defense and pitching to keep the other off the board. The game saw its first action in the top of the sixth when Concord worked themselves around the diamond to score first. Despite this, Brook Sanders blasted the ball to center field on an 0-2 count to tie the game back up in the bottom of the sixth.
It appeared the Mountain Lions were primed to get the lead back in the top of the seventh after doubling to center field, but the Cardinal defense stiffened, and left Concord stranded. The game went along to extra innings and followed a similar defensive narrative, until the bottom of the ninth: Kaylin Shields drew a walk and Marissa Rodriguez took her spot at first. Then, Kylea Chapple pinch hit for Eden Troxel, and although she grounded out, her contact allowed Rodriguez to move to second on the fielder's choice. Finally, KeKe Warrix dug into the right-handed batter's box, and on the fifth pitch of the 2-2 count, Warrix found the gap between the left and center fielders for the walk-off RBI-double to win the game 2-1.
Brook Sanders led the Cardinals at the plate, going 3-4, including a home run and an RBI. KeKe Warrix went 2-4 and recorded the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the ninth. Madison Kay, Denise Carrillo, and Eden Troxel all tallied one hit each. Marissa Rodriguez crossed the plate once to win the contest. Ryleigh Peters pitched all nine innings and recorded two strikeouts and picked up her second win of the season.
The Wheeling University Softball team takes on Glenville State tomorrow, April 12th at the JB Chambers I-470 Complex. The first game is scheduled to start at 1pm and game two is scheduled for 3pm.
