WHEELING, W.Va. — The Wheeling University softball team (9-10, 2-2) opened the game of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) last weekend when they played their doubleheaders with both Notre Dame College and Alderson Broaddus divided. They will now face their first MEC South Division opponent of the season when they take to the streets on Friday to face the University of Charleston. The first game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., followed by the second game at 5:00 p.m.
Last Monday, Wheeling split his double header against Alderson Broaddus. In the first matchup, the Cardinals offense shone as they contributed 14 hits as a team, giving them nine runs to the Battlers Two. A good chunk of the Cardinals’ offense came from Cassie Roman and Cassie Feyh as they both came through and hit home runs to build a strong lead for Wheeling. As a team, Wheeling compiled a total of nine RBIs that played a key role in the nine runs scored. Defensively, the Cardinals held Alderson Broaddus on seven total hits and only allowed them to put together two RBIs.
After winning the first double-header, the Cardinals failed in the second in a twelve-five loss. In the second matchup, allowing the Battlers to total fifteen hits and twelve runs was a major key. One difference between the two games was that the Cardinals allowed two errors in the first game while allowing four errors in the second, setting up runs for the Battlers. The Cardinals finished the weekend 2-2 and are looking to win their first conference doubleheader of the season.
Was the leader on offense over the weekend Gina Fogle, who now leads the MEC in doubles at nine this season. Her big moment came in the first game of the weekend against Notre Dame College when she hit a walk-off double that gave Wheeling a 7-6 win. Overall, Fogle went 8-15 (.533) with four RBI in the four games. Autumn Oehlstrom was another force on the Wheeling lineup and leads the team this season with a .462 batting average. She was 7-13 (.538) with one home run and nine RBI over the four game stretch.
Wheeling now looks ahead to their first MEC South opponent of the season in Charleston as they look to build on last week’s performance. The offensive is hitting all cylinders, hitting seven or more runs in three of their four games over the weekend. Aiming for an average of seven runs per game, the team is currently just under that mark with an average of 5.7 runs per game over the first 19 games of the season. They want to keep scoring while fighting for a spot in the MEC Playoffs.
The matchup
The next time the Cardinals will play is the Golden Eagles of Charleston, the last time these two teams faced each other was last April when the Cardinals won three to one. In the matchup, Wheeling accumulated seven hits and did not issue an error, which was key to the win. They also received strong contributions from several players in the hitting department, but Autum Oehlstorm stood out as she had two hits, an RBI and a home run to fuel the Cardinals’ offense. Wheeling was also on point defensively, although they gave six hits they were able to get out of most innings by only allowing one run. The Cardinals are hoping to match the same result in this next competition to improve their conference and overall records.
The details
The first pitch for Friday’s doubleheader is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on the University of Charleston campus. You can follow the game live with a click HERE.
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