Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 23) – The Waynesburg University baseball team wrapped up the non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) portion of its schedule on Tuesday with a home doubleheader against Penn State Altoona. Despite giving a lot of their regulars the day off at various times in the twin-bill, the Yellow Jackets went 2-0 on the day, winning the opener 11-9 and coming back to win game two in walk-off fashion by the final score of 9-8.
 
After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning of game one, Waynesburg (16-15) roared back by sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs in the bottom of the frame to go up 7-2. Junior centerfielder Clay Roman got Waynesburg on the board with an RBI double, and the Jackets took their first lead of the game when senior leftfielder Nick Berdine teed off on his team-leading fifth homerun of the season, a two-run blast that brought Roman in from second base.
 
Later in the frame, freshman catcher Derrick Zavatsky slapped a two-run single to up his team's advantage to 5-2. Two batters later, senior shortstop Kyle Sasala picked up his second single of the inning, this one giving him his first RBI of the game. Roman wrapped up the scoring in the big opening frame with a run-producing one-bagger that put his team up by five scores. The home team didn't let up on the Lions (12-23), and boosted its lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the second thanks to an RBI double by sophomore designated hitter Neal Yakopin. 
 
After dominating the first two innings of the game, Waynesburg allowed Altoona to get back into contention for a victory after the Lions tallied a run in the third and five more in the top of the fourth to tie the game up at 8-8. However, momentum swung back to the Yellow Jackets in the bottom of the fifth when Sasala drove in Zavatsky to give his team the lead back at 9-8. After stealing second, Sasala was driven in by Roman, who doubled down the leftfield line and gave Waynesburg a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the frame.
 
Penn State Altoona took one last shot at a comeback with a solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth to pull within one run at 10-9. However, the Jackets finally put their feisty opponents away in the bottom of the inning when Zavatsky stroked a sacrifice fly that allowed senior outfielder Adam Horning to score from third base and bring about the final score of 11-9.
 
Game one saw the two opponents combine for 25 hits, 15 of which were recorded by the home team. Sasala and Roman connected on three hits each, with the Waynesburg outfielder driving in a game-high three runs. Yakopin, Berdine, Zavatsky and sophomore right fielder Ben Shorthouse added two hits each to the winning effort.
 
Sophomore Dean Pulsford pitched two innings in relief of freshman starter Connor Furwa to pick up the win on the mound. Pulsford gave up just one run on three hits and no walks during his latest appearance, before giving way to freshman Tyler Prevost, who picked up his team's first save of the season. The righty pitched 1.1 strong innings in which he gave up just one hit and struck out three.
 
Waynesburg veteran head coach Mike Humiston focused on getting some of his younger players some work in game two by resting most of his starting lineup. The Lions took advantage of this move and built up an 8-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Not wanting to lose his team's momentum from the game-one victory, Humiston returned several of his key starters from the game-one victory to aid in a monumental comeback.
 
With runners on second and third and one out on the board, Roman drove in two more runs with a single that pulled Waynesburg to within three (8-5). Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Horning, who came up with a one-out, two-run single of his own to shrink the deficit to a single run at 8-7. Two batters later, with two outs on the board, the Jackets completed the comeback with a big assist from the Lions, who committed a game-deciding error that allowed Shorthouse to score the game-tying run and Horning to follow with the game winner.
 
For the second-straight game, Waynesburg's bullpen picked up the win on the mound, and this time it was freshman Cody Hardin who did the honors in his first collegiate appearance. The native of Bath, Maine tossed a scoreless top of the seventh with one hit and two strikeouts to make his Waynesburg debut a successful one.
 
Roman and Berdine notched two more hits each in the victory, while Roman added two more runs scored and two more RBI to complete an impressive two games of work. The junior transfer went five-for-eight with two doubles, five RBI and three runs scored.
 
Waynesburg returns to PAC play tomorrow, when the Thiel Tomcats come to town for a nine-inning conference clash. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.