WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 18) – The Waynesburg University baseball team split its double header with Geneva College on Monday. The Yellow Jackets took game one 9-5, but fell 3-2 during the late game.
Waynesburg is now 9-17 overall. The Golden Tornadoes record moved to 15-14 with the split.
The Jackets found themselves trailing the Golden Tornadoes 1-0 in the bottom of the third, when an error on Geneva's third baseman allowed the first hitter of the inning, Mike Neckerman to reach. Senior outfielder Brandon Myers followed up Neckerman with a perfectly placed bunt that allowed both runners to be safe on the play. After a sacrifice bunt by Corey Goeggelman tied the score at 1-1, Anthony DeFilippo opened the flood gates, crushing his seventh home run of the season over the left field wall to give the Jackets a 3-1 lead.
The Golden Tornadoes would continue to chip away at the Jackets lead, closing the gap to 4-3 in the top of the sixth inning. The Jackets however, had none of Geneva's comeback, as they responded with a five run bottom of the sixth. After back-to-back singles by Brendan Scioscia and Nick Berdine, the Jackets would go back to manufacturing runs through small ball. Tim Chilcote reached on an error by the third baseman, allowing Scioscia to score. Corey Goeggelman added two RBI's on a single up the middle, while DeFilippo and Neckerman both tallied RBI's on sacrifice plays.
Goeggelman and DeFilippo finished the game with three RBI's a piece, while Nick Berdine went three-for-three with two runs scored. Brandon Myers also went two-for-two with two runs scored.
Freshman pitcher Zach Kreke picked up his first win of the season, going the distance for the Jackets. Kreke allowed four earned runs on 12 hits, while striking out one.
The late game of the twin-bill started with Geneva once again putting the first point on the board, scoring on a solo home run in the first inning. Waynesburg went down 1-2-3 in the first and second innings before tying the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third on a Brandon Myers sacrifice groundout.
The Golden Tornadoes added a run in the fifth inning after Jacket's starter Tim Knight walked the bases full. They would add another in the sixth on the Tornadoes second solo home run of the game. Waynesburg would have a partial answer for the Tornadoes bats, as Anthony Defilippo slapped a two-out single up the middle of the diamond. Pinch-hitter Ty Holderbaum walked, setting the table for Brendan Scioscia to crush his offering to right field, plating DeFilippo and making the score 3-2.
That was the Jackets last gasp though, as they went down in order to end the seventh. Senior Tim Knight was the hard-luck loser, throwing five innings, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out two.
Scioscia had a productive day at the plate for Waynesburg during the doubleheader. The junior went three-for-six (.500 average) with an RBI. Berdine tallied three hits as well, while senior shortstop Anthony DeFilippo went two-for-seven with a home run, three RBI's and two runs scored.
The Jackets are scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, April 20, when they host the Westminster Titans. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
