LATROBE, Pa. (May 6) – The Waynesburg University baseball team kept its hopes of qualifying for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs alive with an impressive 15-7 road win at Saint Vincent College on Friday.
The Yellow Jackets (13-23, 8-11) struck first in the top of the opening inning when senior shortstop
Anthony DeFilippo singled in junior second baseman
Corey Goeggelman to give the visiting team a 1-0 lead. After Saint Vincent (15-23, 5-14) tied the game in the bottom of the first, Waynesburg regained the lead with a pair of runs in the two runs in the top of the third. With the bases loaded, junior first baseman
Noah Pust drew a one-out walk to make it 2-1 Waynesburg. The next batter, junior catcher
Brendan Scioscia, laid down a bunt single that brought in senior left fielder Rob Cool, Jr. to make it 3-1 Jackets.
The Bearcats trimmed the lead to 3-2 after plating a score in the bottom of the third, but the Jackets got the run back in the top of the fourth when DeFilippo drove a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed senior center fielder
Brandon Myers to sprint home and make the score 4-2 Waynesburg.
The seesaw battle continued as Saint Vincent exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take a 6-4 advantage, but Waynesburg didn't look rattled and responded with a big inning of its own. Still trailing by two runs in the top of the sixth, the Jackets scored 11 unanswered runs over the next three innings of play.
Six Jacket runs came home in the top of the sixth. Right fielder
Mike Neckerman ripped a two-run double in the frame, while Myers slapped a two-run single of his own. The other two Waynesburg runs scored as a result of a Saint Vincent throwing error.
Back in the driver's seat with a 10-6 lead, Waynesburg didn't let off the throttle and added four seventh-inning runs to its growing total. A passed ball and two errors played a big part in the four unearned scores that pushed the Jackets' lead to 14-6. The visiting team's final run came home in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Pust.
Saint Vincent put up a run in the ninth, but it was too little, too late and Waynesburg sealed up the important victory, which featured seven different Jackets picking up at least one hit a piece. Goeggelman led the 14-hit effort with four singles, a game-high three runs scored and a stolen base. DeFilippo added three hits, while Scisocia and Myers contributed two base hits each to the winning effort. DeFilippo, Pust, Scioscia and Neckerman added two RBI each for Waynesburg.
The Waynesburg offense was also helped out by eight Saint Vincent walks and four Bearcat errors. All of that added up to more than enough support for the first-year pitching combination of
Zach Kreke and
Rob Baumgartel. Kreke started and took a no-decision after giving up six runs, five of which were earned, over four innings of work. Baumgartel picked up the win after working five innings and giving up just one run on three hits and striking out six.
The same two teams will meet up on Sunday, May 8, to wrap up their respective regular seasons with a doubleheader in Waynesburg. The Jackets, who will celebrate senior day, will look to take both contests and keep their playoff hopes alive starting at 2 p.m.
