Wheeling W. Va- The Wheeling University Softball team (8-30), (4-10) saw action last weekend against Concord and Glenville State where the team went 1-3 across the four games played. In the win on Friday night, they battled against the Mountain Lions in a game that required extra innings, specifically nine innings. The Cardinals won on a walk-off RBI-double hit by KeKe Warrix that brought Marissa Rodriguez around the bases to score. Of course, the extra innings win would not have been possible without the sixth inning home run hit by Brook Sanders to tie the game at one.
There are three Cardinals that have maintained at least a .300 batting average throughout the duration of the season: Mackenzie Burns (.378), Warrix (.317), and Ava Kresak (.306). Each player has contributed something different, but meaningful to the team. Burns is the team's leader in many categories including batting average, hits, doubles, and home runs. Warrix is the team's runs leader with 15 and has stolen 10 bases on 10 attempts, and Kresak has been a consistent outfielder that gets on base and is second on the team with 14 runs.
In double header contests, Kaylin Shields has typically been the game one starter followed by Ryleigh Peters in game two. Shields sits sixth in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) with 87 strikeouts across 105.2 innings pitched. Peters currently has a 5.13 ERA and has amassed 30 strikeouts in her junior year.
The Matchups
Davis & Elkins is 12-28 overall and is 7-9 MEC play, which is good enough for fourth place in the MEC's South Division. The Senators' offense is led by sophomore Audrey Higgins with a batting average of .313 and senior Ashlyn Zapach, who is batting .311. In the circle, the ace for D&E is junior Sammie Jarvis who holds a 4.18 ERA and has struck out 112 batters, which is fourth in the league. The team is coming off a weekend split between Charleston and West Virginia State, scoring a combined 13 runs as they went 2-4 last weekend. D&E is 14-1 against Wheeling dating back to 2012 where the Senators have won the last 14 meetings. The last time the two programs met was in the MEC Tournament last year in Salem, VA, where they squeaked out a 2-1 win over Wheeling.
The West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats are 12-24 and 4-12 in MEC play as they sit last in the South Division. Junior Regan Winn leads the team with a .400 batting average, which is the third-best in the conference. Senior Morgan Greene headlines the pitching staff for the Bobcats, sporting a 4.44 ERA and has racked up 52 strikeouts. Similarly to D&E, they are also coming off doubleheaders against West Virginia State and Charleston. However, the Bobcats went 1-3 and are riding a three-game losing streak before their matchup against West Liberty tomorrow. Wesleyan is 20-6 against Wheeling dating back to 2012 with Wheeling coming out on top in the last three matchups. The two met for a doubleheader on April 12th of last year, and the Cardinals picked up two close wins: 6-5 in game one and 7-6 in game two.
The Details
The Wheeling University Softball team travels to take on Davis & Elkins tomorrow, April 17th and then will continue their road trip against West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday, April 18th. Streaming and Live Stat links as well as times will be provided below.
D&E vs Wheeling Game One (2pm)
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D&E vs Wheeling Game Two (4pm)
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Wesleyan vs Wheeling Game One (1pm)
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Wesleyan vs Wheeling Game Two (3pm)
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