GREENVILLE, Pa. (April 9) – Whether it was accomplished with explosive hitting or a stingy combination of pitching and defense, the Waynesburg University softball team picked up a two-game sweep of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Thiel on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets cranked out 16 hits in game one on their way to a 14-6 victory over the Tomcats, and followed that up with freshman pitcher
Carrie Maier scattering six hits over seven innings of a 3-1 win in the late contest. Waynesburg improved to 11-7 on the season and is now 4-2 in PAC play. Thiel dropped to 4-17 overall and 0-6 in conference action.
After both teams failed to score during the first two innings of the opener, the Jackets struck first with three runs in the top of the third. Third baseman
Sam Volponi led off the inning with a walk. Two batters later, second baseman
Shannon Falleroni drew a walk of her own and shortstop
Rachael Moon followed with an RBI single that pushed the visiting team ahead 1-0. The big hit of the inning came from starting pitcher
Amanda Baughman, who slapped a two-run single that emptied the bases and made it 3-0 Jackets.
Thiel cut Waynesburg's lead down to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Yellow Jackets fired right back with a four-spot in the top of the fifth. Baughman picked up her third RBI of the game and sophomore catcher
Lizz Bombara doubled in two more runs to make it 6-1 Jackets. Senior first baseman
Kristen Lautenschlager moved her team ahead 7-1 with a run-scoring single.
The home team got back into the game with two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-3 in favor of the Jackets. However, the Waynesburg bats stayed hot and produced three more scores in the top of the sixth. Baughman recorded her fourth RBI of the game during the frame, and her teammates took advantage of two Thiel errors to establish a 10-3 lead.
Thiel posted a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, but another big inning by the visitors kept the Tomcats from making a serious run at the victory. Waynesburg fired back with four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 14-5 lead, before the Cats picked up their final run of the contest to bring about the final score of 14-6.
Baughman picked up the win in the circle after throwing seven innings, giving up five earned runs on 11 hits and striking out seven Thiel batters. Emily Batiz took the loss after throwing 4.2 innings and giving up seven runs.
While game one featured 20 runs scored on 27 hits, game two was a pitchers' duel between Maier and junior Kristen Moreland of Thiel. Waynesburg took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run double by centerfielder
Amber Pivik that scored Falleroni and Baughman. Thiel cut the lead in half with a score in the top of the third, but the Jackets re-established a two-run advantage when Pivik drove in her third run of the game, which was scored by Moon, who led off the inning with a double.
The Tomcats put the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh, but Maier induced a game-ending fly ball to centerfield to wrap up the sweep.
Pivik and Baughman led Waynesburg offensively. The senior outfielder went five-for-seven with two doubles, four RBI and a run scored, while the hard-throwing righty posted four hits in six trips the plate, drove in five runs and scored another. Moon chipped in a four-for-eight performance with two doubles and a team-high four runs scored.
Waynesburg is back in action on Tuesday, April 12, when they host Bethany in a PAC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
