Wheeling, W. Va. - After making the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament for the first time since the 2018 season in 2025, the Wheeling University Softball had their sights set on postseason play once again in 2026. Despite not reaching the tournament, the Cardinals showed growth on both sides of the ball, with leaders emerging to help lead the future. With several of their leaders coming back for 2027, the Cardinals look to use this growth and propel the program into the future.
The 2025 season would start at home with the first annual The Highlands Classic, co-hosted by West Liberty, with the Cardinals going 1-3 over the opening weekend. They followed with two more wins on their spring break trip to Florida, and went 1-3 during the MEC/Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover. A split with Salem would end the non-conference stretch with the Cardinals sitting at 5-15 as they hosted Point Park for their conference opening weekend. Wheeling would win the opener 13-4, before dropping the second game 9-6 to start 1-1 in MEC play. The Cardinals would end March with a 7-5 win in the finale of their doubleheader with West Virginia State, and entered the final month run of the season sitting at 2-6 in conference play.
They would hold the #3 spot in the MEC North Division, but a tough stretch still lie ahead for the Cardinals with the top two teams in the division to open the month. Wheeling's first win in April would come on April 11th, when they split with Concord, and they added a win against West Liberty on April 22nd to open the final push for the playoffs. It was the first of back-to-back splits for the Cardinals, adding a split with Frostburg State, and a split with Salem on April 30th moved them into the final day of the regular season with a shot at postseason contention still alive. The Cardinals would need to sweep Point Park, and have Davis & Elkins sweep West Virginia State. However, the Cardinals would fall in their portion of the day, finishing 11-40 overall and 5-22 in MEC play.
Throughout the season, the Cardinals were led by veteran leadership in the circle, led by senior Maria Clark. Clark rounded out a strong Cardinals career, going 1-0 across 11 appearances, six starts, posting a 4.17 ERA while walking 24 and striking out 24. She was the Cardinal's game one starter early in the season, while also serving as the team's primary designated player when she wasn't pitching. At the plate, she would add a .217 average, while sitting second on the team with 20 RBI. Clark has been a big part of the Cardinals throughout her four seasons in Wheeling, and helped pave the way for the rest of the Cardinal pitching staff, leading the way for Kaylin Shields and Ryleigh Peters to step up at the end of the season.
Peters made her return to the Cardinals in 2026, and finished as the top eligible pitcher in ERA, finishing at 5.03 over 22 appearances, 19 starts. She would throw 93.1 innings of work, walking 38 and striking out 34, with opponents hitting .306 against her during the season. Her breakout performance would come in the win over Concord, when she threw 9.0 innings of one run ball to lead the Cardinals to a 2-1 win. Kaylin Shields continued her consistency in the circle, leading the team with five wins while posting a 5.63 ERA across 143.0 innings of work. She would strikeout a team-best 110 batters across those 143 innings, while walking 73 and allowing a .303 opponent batting average.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals were led by a breakout performance by freshman Mackenzie Burns. Burns would lead the team with a .369 batting average, five home runs, and 24 RBI during the weekend. She started her Cardinal career with a bang, putting together a four-game hitting streak at The Highlands Classic, driving in four runs during the opening weekend. The freshman's .369 average was good to place her in a tie for seventh in the conference, while her 24 RBI had her just inside the top 40 among the conference. She was a consistent force in the lineup for Head Coach Mallory Chapman, and she looks to continue leading the offense for years to come.
The Wheeling University Softball team now heads into the off-season, looking to build on their solid foundation into the future.
