Box Score
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (March 25) – The Waynesburg University baseball team picked a perfect time to snap a 10-game losing streak. Under frigid cold conditions, the Yellow Jackets opened up Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play with a 4-1 victory over visiting Bethany College.
Waynesburg (3-10, 1-0) combined an outstanding pitching effort from senior Jesse Gonzalez and a big hitting day from senior shortstop Anthony DeFilippo to take down the visiting Bison (5-3, 0-1). The Jackets out-hit their opponents by a nine-to-five margin en route to the win.
Things started well for the home team. After setting Bethany down one-two-three in the top of the first, DeFilippo roped a two-out double in the bottom of the inning for the day's first hit. Junior first baseman Noah Pust followed with an RBI single to right-center field that moved his team ahead 1-0.
Two innings later, Waynesburg took advantage of Bethany's first error of the game to double its advantage. Senior center fielder Rob Cool Jr. led the inning off with a double and scored two batters later when a botched Bethany double play attempt allowed him to come home and make the score 2-0.
With the Jacket defense continuing to post zeros against the potent Bison bats, DeFilippo delivered the deciding blow in the win during the bottom of the fifth. Cool led off the frame with a single and two batters later, the senior man in the middle blasted a Mike Muklewicz pitch over the left-center field wall for his fourth homerun of the season. The two-run blast put Waynesburg ahead 4-0 and set them on the road to victory.
The Bison picked up their only run in the top of the eighth and put two runners on base with two outs on the board in the ninth. However, Gonzalez wrapped up the complete-game victory by striking out centerfielder Tyler Dillinger.
Gonzalez put together one of his best performances as a Jacket to improve to 1-2 on the season and drop his ERA down to 4.01. He scattered five hits and five walks over nine innings, and struck out four Bison. Muklewicz took the loss for Bethany after giving up all four runs, three of which were earned, over six innings of work.
DeFilippo accounted for one-third of the Jackets' nine hits. He finished the day three-for-four with two doubles, a homerun, two RBI and two runs scored. Cool added a two-for-four performance at the dish with a double and two runs scored.
These same two teams will meet up again tomorrow in Bethany, W.Va. for a PAC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
