• Game 1 Box Score
• Game 2 Box Score

WASHINGTON, Pa. (March 24) – The Waynesburg University baseball team took a split of its conference-opening doubleheader with Washington & Jefferson College at Ross Memorial Park Monday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets won the opener 4-0 before the Presidents claimed a 6-3 win in the second game.

With the doubleheader split, Waynesburg moves to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in conference play this season. The Yellow Jackets have won eight of their last 11 games. Meanwhile, W&J stands at 6-4 overall with a 1-1 record in league action.

In game one, sophomore pitcher Ryan Lavrusky (Temple Terrace, Fla./King) (3-2) tossed his third-straight, complete-game shutout. Lavrusky scattered six hits over 9.0 innings with thee walks and a career-high nine strikeouts.

The Presidents looked to take a lead early in the game, as they had runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings. However, the Yellow Jackets broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-out RBI single by sophomore second baseman Wes White Jr (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry).

Waynesburg added three insurance runs on four hits in the seventh with RBI singles from senior third baseman Ryan Group (Washington, Pa./McGuffey) and sophomore shortstop Dan Novak (Rock Hill, S.C./Chartiers-Houston). Junior first baseman Brandon Dittmar (Strabane, Pa./Canon-McMillan) also scored on a wild pitch in the inning.

In both the eighth and ninth innings, W&J threatened the shutout by having runners on second base before Lavrusky worked out of each inning unscathed.

Junior Ian Poole (1-2) suffered the loss for the Presidents after allowing two runs on six hits in 6.1 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Group paced the Waynesburg offense, going 3-for-4 with one double, one run and one RBI. White went 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI.

In the nightcap, W&J broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning before adding two insurance runs in the eighth. Junior Dan Vietmeier earned the victory after allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits in 6.0 innings, while sophomore Jim Pasquine registered his fifth save of the season after retiring the Yellow Jackets in order in the ninth inning.

Sophomore pitcher Bryan Leones (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) (1-3) was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) in 7.2 innings on 11 hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

White and Novak each posted multi-hit games for the Yellow Jackets, who managed six hits in nine innings off three Presidents' hurlers.

Waynesburg returns to action tomorrow, Tuesday, March 25, when it travels to face Penn State-Altoona for a non-conference doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. in Altoona, Pa.