Softball Evens Weekend With Split vs. Alderson Broaddus
Wheeling, W. Va. – After a flare for the dramatic in their Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener, the Wheeling University Softball team (9-10, 2-2) was back at it on Sunday against Alderson Broaddus. The Cardinals ended up evening their weekend with a split with the Battlers to move to 2-2 in conference play. They were able to win the first game 92 before dropping the second game 12-5.
Game One: Wheeling 9, Alderson Broaddus 2
Freshman Randi Holder got the start in game one and she got support from her offense right away. Jn the bottom of the first with two outs, Gina Fogle singled to keep the inning alive and Cassi Roman would pick her up with an RBI double to give them a 1-0 lead. Maddie Muniz stepped in next and replaced Roman with a double of her own that made it a 2-0 Cardinals advantage. Munoz would then steal third and Autumn Oehlstrom picked her up with an RBI single to get Wheeling out to a 3-9 lead. Holder responded with a 1-2-3 bottom of the second and brought Wheeling back to the bat racks.
After the first out of the inning, Cass Feyh stepped in and sent a solo home run to left center to make it a 4-0 game. Taylor Hradek doubled and Makie Paxson singled and stile second to get Wheeling back in business. Fogle would step in and bring home Hradek with an RBI single to make it a 5-0 game. Three batters later, Oehlstrom stepped in with the bases loaded and two outs and brought home two more with an RBI single to right that nearly enacted the eight-run rule. However, they would stick with seven after two innings of play That would be more than enough for Holder as she twirled seven innings of two-run ball to get her second win of the season.
The Battlers got those two runs in the top of the third that made it a 7-2 game after Wheeling's four-spot in the second. Wheeling's final two runs came in the fourth and fifth innings to bring the game to its final 9-2 score. In the fourth, Cassi Roman pushed that run across in the fourth when she lifted her fourth home run of the season to make it an 8-2 game. In the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals would have Feyh reach on a one-out single and moved to second in a wide pitch. She would come home on a Hradek triple that made it a 9-2 game that would remain the rest of the way.
It was a big day for both Autumn Oehlstrom and Cassi Roman as both had multi-RBI games. Oehlstrom led the way going 3-3 with a double and three RBI in the game while Roman went 2-4 with two RBI. Taylor Hradek, Maddie Munoz, Cass Feth, and Gina Fogle each added RBI of their own in the win.
Alderson Broaddus 12, Wheeling 5
In the second game of the day, it was Alderson Broaddus's turn to bring out the sticks as Wheeling played from behind most of the game. After both teams were held scoreless in the first, the Battlers would breakthrough with five runs in the second and two in the third to make it a 7-0 Battlers advantage. The Cardinals would get on the board in the bottom of the third when Brooke Weber lifted a home run to left that made it a 7-1 game. However, the Battlers added another five-spot that threatened to enact the eight-run rule.
However, Wheeling was able to stay alive as they stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Fogle singled with one out and an error allowed Brooke Slomkowski to reach and put runners at first and third with nobody out. Oehlstrom would then continue her big day, lacing a two-RBI triple to right to make it a 12-3 game. Alisa Shelt would add a sacrifice fly and Wheeling headed to the fifth trailing 12-4. With one more chance to keep the game alive in the bottom of the fifth, Wheeling responded as Mia Smallwood hit a pinch-hit sacrifice fly that brought home another run and brought the game to its final 12-5 score.
Neither team would score over the final two innings of play and Wheeling would fall to 2-2 in MEC play with the split. The Cardinals brought in Madison Macy for the final 3.2 innings of work, and she held the Battlers at bay not allowing a run during that span. Oehlatrom once again led the offense going 1-3 with two RBI in the loss and Brooke Weber was the only Cardinal to finish with multiple hits, going 2-3 with a home run and an RBI.
The Wheeling University Softball team is back in action on Saturday, March 26th, when they hit the road to face the University of Charleston at 2 PM.