West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University softball team is set to return home to the Hilltopper Softball Complex as they welcome Ohio County rival, Wheeling, for a mid-week match-up. The Hilltoppers and Cardinals are slated for 2 and 4 p.m. first pitch times on Wednesday afternoon.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, West Virginia (Hilltopper Softball Complex)
• First Pitch: 2 & 4 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's doubleheader with a 7-13 (2-0 MEC) record on the season following a sweep of Salem by scores of 5-2 and 7-1 on Sunday afternoon, marking their fourth straight win and seventh in their last ten games.
• As a team WLU is hitting .273 with 135 hits, 24 doubles, two triples, ten homeruns, 63 RBI, and 74 runs scored through 20 games played this season.
• Sydney Johnson leads the team with a .393 batting average while posting an on-base percentage of .431, a slugging percentage of .508, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .939. She has tallied 24 hits, five doubles, one triple, five RBI, and has scored ten runs. Johnson has recorded a hit in 12 consecutive games, which includes six games with a pair of hits.
• Kayla Mancuso is second on the team with a batting average of .333, while also recording an on-base percentage of .435, a slugging percentage of .436, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .871. She has tallied 13 hits, one double, one homerun, ten RBI, and 13 runs scored. Mancuso has notched a hit in seven consecutive games, and ten of the last 11 contests.
• Jaden Conrad (.317), Carlee Leidy (.316), and Sara Simon (.311) are the three remaining players who are hitting better than .300 on the season.
• Mallory Rosnick leads the team with three homeruns on the year.
• The Hilltoppers' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 5.64, allowing 170 hits and 58 walks, while throwing 70 strikeouts. Opponents hold a .309 batting average against WLU pitchers.
• Kadence Pettit, the 2023 MaxPreps West Virginia Player of the Year has made eight starts in 11 appearances to open her freshman campaign, pitching 39.1 innings and a pair of complete games thus far. She holds a team-low ERA of 4.81 to go along with a 1.75 WHIP, an opponent's batting average of .298, and 33 strikeouts. With a record of 4-6 on the season she has struck out six or more batters in three games.
• Madison Angus holds an ERA of 4.91 while recording a WHIP of 1.56 and has held opponents to a .272 batting average. She has thrown 12 strikeouts on the year.
• Brooke Perri is the top relief pitcher with a 5.25 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched in seven appearances. She has notched a WHIP of 2.42 and an opponents batting average of .333 while striking out four batters.
• Sara Pelegreen is in her first season as the head coach at West Liberty with a record of 7-13 with the Hilltoppers. Overall, she is in her fifth season as a collegiate head softball coach and has compiled a career record of 76-143 which includes four prior seasons at Wheeling.

WHEELING STORYLINES

• Wheeling enters Wednesday's doubleheader with a 4-20 (0-2 MEC) record on the season following a pair of losses to Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon by scores of 6-2 and 9-1.
• As a team WU is hitting .281 with 164 hits, 26 doubles, two triples, nine homeruns, 81 RBI, and 92 runs scored through 24 games played this season.
• Cassie Feyh leads the team with a .465 batting average while also adding a .500 on-base percentage, a .634 slugging percentage, and a 1.134 on-base plus slugging percentage. She has tallied 33 hits, nine doubles, one homerun, 16 RBI, and 17 runs scored. Feyh has recorded five consecutive games with a hit and has 12 multi-hit games on the year.
• Jenna Hollerich adds a batting average of .333 while also tallying a .386 on-base percentage, a .381 slugging percentage, and a .767 on-base plus slugging percentage. She has notched 21 hits, two doubles, ten RBI, and ten runs scored.
• Madison Kay rounds out the trio of WU batters to hit better than .300 on the season with a .327 mark, an on-base percentage of .346, a slugging percentage of .633, an on-base plus slugging percentage of .979. She has recorded 16 hits, three doubles, four homeruns, 12 RBI, and eight runs scored.
• The Cardinals' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 13.57, allowing 252 hits and 130 walks, while throwing 80 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .404 batting average against WU pitchers.
• Maria Clark leads all starting pitchers with a team-low ERA of 10.30 while also adding a WHIP of 2.94 and has held opponents to a .333 batting average. In 32.1 innings pitched she has posted a 1-5 record with 12 strikeouts.
• In ten appearances and eight games started, Ryleigh Peters has pitched a team-high 37.1 innings with five complete games. She has posted an ERA of 13.02, a WHIP of 2.57, and has held opponents to a .386 batting average while striking out 23 batters. Peters has a record of 2-6 on the season.
• Mallory Chapman is in her first season as the head coach at Wheeling with a career record of 4-20 during her time with the Cardinals.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2012 West Liberty holds a narrow 20-19 advantage in the series.
• The Hilltoppers and Cardinals split the most recent doubleheader between the teams on April 12, 2023, at the Hilltopper Softball Complex as WU won game one (10-8) and WLU won game two (10-5).