Wheeling, W. Va. – It has been a tough month of April for the Wheeling University Softball team (6-30, 4-14) as they are trying to breakout of a 12-game losing streak. However, the team hits the road on Wednesday as they look for revenge in “The Battle for Wheeling” against West Liberty. The Cardinals dropped a pair in their first meeting with the Hilltoppers at home and are looking to even the score on the Hilltop.
The Cardinals are coming off a weekend road trip that saw them take on a pair of Mountain East Conference (MEC) South teams in Concord and Glenville State. In the weekend capper, the Cardinals battled in both games, but couldn’t break their slide taking a doubleheader sweep. In both games, the Cardinals had the lead early, but ended up losing it on a late Pioneer comeback. Game one of the day saw the teams tied heading into the bottom of the seventh with the score knotted up at 2-2. The Pioneers would push across the game winning run on an RBI single and Wheeling would fall 3-2. In the second game, Wheeling built an early 2-1 lead, but six unanswered Pioneer runs made it a 7-2 game. Wheeling added two more in the top of the sixth to get within three runs, but they couldn’t slam the door and fell 7-4 to take the sweep.
Junior Maddie Munoz continued her strong junior season as she has taken to her new role as the Cardinal’s leadoff hitter. She was the lone Cardinals to get multiple hits in both games, finishing a combined 4-7 with a double and three RBI across the two games. Munoz has hit leadoff in every game over the last week and has raised her season average to a team-high .388 and sits second on the team with 19 RBI this season. She still leads the MEC with six triples this season while sitting 10th in the conference with her .388 average. Munoz has served as a spark plug for this Cardinals team this season and looks to continue that success heading into the big rivalry game against West Liberty.
On the pitching side, the Cardinals got a big effort from junior Jenee Brodeur, who turned in the best start of her collegiate career in game one against Glenville State. She lasted 6.0 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits while striking out two batters and giving her team a chance to win. She ended up earning a no-decision in the outing, but was able to break a string of two straight appearances where she allowed five or more earned runs. The second game saw Randi Holder last 3.0 innings in the circle, allowing three earned runs on five hits while walking one and striking out one. The Cardinal’s staff has produced an 8.08 team ERA and has gotten better and better with every start.
As they enter the second edition of “The Battle for Wheeling,” the Cardinals are looking for a pair of wins to help get them back in the MEC Tournament race. They currently sit sixth in the MEC North Division, sitting two games back of Alderson Broaddus for fifth in the conference. With the top four teams from each division making the MEC Tournament, the Cardinals currently sit three games behind the Hilltoppers for that final playoff spot. A sweep on the Hilltop would get the Cardinals right back in the playoff picture entering the final three weeks of the regular season.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the 41st and 42nd times in program history and the third and fourth times this season. As the series moves to the Hilltop, the Cardinals come in with a winning record on the road, going 11-9 in 20 previous road meetings. However, the Cardinals have dropped 15 of the last 16 games they played against the Hilltoppers, with the lone win during that stretch coming on the Hilltop on April 20th of last season. Wheeling is looking to take the lead in the all-time series and get the Cardinals back on track in the all-sport season series, where Wheeling has a 9-5 record against the Hilltoppers.
Last time the two teams met, the Cardinals ended up being swept at the J.B. Chambers I-470 Complex, with West Liberty picking up wins of 6-2 and 5-1. In the first game, Maddie Munoz led the way going 2-4 while Natalie Stoner drove in the lone RBI on the day without the courtesy of a hit. In game two, Randi Holder threw a complete-game effort allowing five runs, four earned, on 11 hits while walking one and striking out eight, while Anna Florczak drove in the only run of the day.
The Details
First pitch for Wednesday afternoon’s game is scheduled for 3 PM at the Hilltopper Softball Facility on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
Discussion about this post