Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (May 15) – After concluding the 2013 regular season, the Waynesburg University baseball team qualified for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South tournament for a second-straight season. Unlike last year's team, this year's Yellow Jackets found a way to win their first-round matchup. The fourth-seeded Jackets jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on to upset top-seeded La Roche 5-4 at the Redhawks' home field.
 
The victory moves Waynesburg (21-18) into this weekend's ECAC South championship game, where it will take on second-seeded McDaniel (Md.) College. The Green Terror (22-15) beat third-seeded Penn State Abington 14-9 on Wednesday. The Jackets' win over the Hakws (29-15) also avenged a season-opening sweep that La Roche picked up over the Orange and Black way back on Feb. 23.
 
As previously mentioned, the visiting team got off to a quick start to build a 4-0 advantage in the top of the first inning. Senior shortstop Kyle Sasala led the game off with a single and advance to second on a wild pitch. A big La Roche error led to the game's first run. Junior centerfielder Clay Roman ended up on second base because of the miscue and Sasala came all the way around to score.
 
After slugging leftfielder Nick Berdine bunted Roman to third, sophomore right fielder Ben Shorthouse not only reached base when the Hawks tried to cut Roman down at home, but the speedy centerfielder beat the play to score and pushed Waynesburg's advantage to 2-0. After freshman catcher Derrick Zavatsky walked, La Roche recorded the second out of the inning with runners on first and second. Senior third baseman Tim Chilcote came up with the first big hit of the game, a triple that scored Shorthouse and Zavatsky and gave the team its early 4-0 advantage.
 
La Roche cut into its early deficit with a run in the bottom of the frame, but sophomore starting pitcher J. Jay Paskert limited the damage and wound up putting together a solid five innings of work. Head coach Mike Humiston proved his desire to get his team into the ECAC South title game by trotting out a second All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) right-hander in freshman Brian Resnik
 
The Redhawks kept Waynesburg off the board for the next five innings and were able to cut the Waynesburg lead down to 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Jackets re-established a multi-run advantage in the top of the seventh when Sasala reached on a two-base error, moved to third on a groundout by Roman and came around to score on a wild pitch.
 
La Roche responded with a tally in the bottom of the eighth to pull to within a single run. However, Resnik retired the Redhawks in order during the bottom of the ninth to slam the door on the opposition's comeback attempt.
 
Paskert picked up his first collegiate postseason victory by giving up three runs, two of which were earned, on five hits and five walk, while striking out three. Resnik worked a four-inning save that included a run on just two hits and no walks. Resnik struck out four Redhawks on the afternoon.
 
The Jackets managed to pick up the win, despite being out-hit by a seven-to-three margin. Chilcote picked up two of those base knocks. Sasala scored a team-high two runs, while Chilcote's chipped in a team-best two RBI on his early three-bagger. All five of Waynesburg's scores were recorded as unearned runs.
 
An exact date, time and site for this weekend's ECAC South title game have yet to be announced, but will be released soon. It will be the Jackets' first trip to an ECAC title game since 2003, when Waynesburg took second place.