Box Score

BETHANY, W.Va. (April 17) – The Waynesburg University baseball team traveled to Bethany College for a  nine-inning Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets leapfrogged the host Bison to move into third place in the conference standings following a 5-4 win.
 
After four innings of play, it looked as though the Jackets (12-16, 8-5) would cruise to an easy victory. The visitors struck early by plating three runs in the first inning on two hits and two walks. Junior right fielder Eric Crum led off with a free pass and moved to second base on a single by freshman shortstop Nathan Mori. Two batters later, freshman designated hitter Jonathon Kletzli walked to load the bases for sophomore first baseman Matt Bensinger, who singled home Crum to score the game's first run.
 
A Bethany (12-10, 7-5) error helped produce the second Jacket run, which occurred when freshman third baseman Luke Carter took first on the defensive miscue and Mori sprinted home. An RBI groundout by junior leftfielder Ben Shorthouse closed the first-inning scoring at 3-0.
 
After retiring the top-three hitters in the Bethany order during the bottom of the frame, Waynesburg extended its advantage to 4-0 in the top of the second. The Orange and Black led off with back-to-back singles by junior second baseman Neal Yakopin and Crum. After Mori bunted both base-runners into scoring position, Roman tagged a sacrifice fly to centerfield to plate Yakopin.
 
The Bison broke up Waynesburg's shutout bid in the bottom of the fifth to pull to within three runs (4-1). However, the Jackets fired right back in the top of the sixth with their final tally of the day. Senior catcher Marc Timmons led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Yakopin then drove his teammate home with a base knock that made the score 5-1. Bethany retired the next three batters in order to halt the threat, and was about to turn the one-sided affair into a thriller.
 
Much to the delight of their home crowd, the Bison found their bats in the bottom of the eighth inning, when nine Green and White bats came to the plate. Bethany scored three runs and had runners on first and second with two outs on the board when the Jacket coaching staff called upon sophomore Derrick Zavatsky to put a stop to the rally. Zavatsky responded to the call by inducing an inning-ending fly-out to Roman. Zavatsky wrapped up his third save of the 2014 campaign by stranding a pair of Bethany base-runners in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Bensinger led the Waynesburg offense by connecting on a game-high four hits over five at-bats. Yakopin added a three-for-four showing at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Five different Jackets scored one run each in the victory, while four different batters each notched an RBI.
 
Sophomore ace Brian Resnik won his fifth-straight decision after giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks over 7.2 innings on the mound. He struck out five Bison on the day, and was absolutely dominant through the early innings. Resnik took a no-hitter into the fourth inning.
 
The same two teams will meet up for a seven-inning doubleheader in Waynesburg on Saturday, April 19. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.