Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WASHINGTON, Pa. (May 9) – The Waynesburg University baseball team won its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoff game since 2004, when it defeated Bethany 5-4 during the first of two games on Saturday. Unfortunately, a huge first inning by the host team from Washington & Jefferson in game two ultimately led to Waynesburg being eliminated from the event following a 16-9 loss. Both contests were elimination games for all three teams involved.
 
The Jackets (18-25) fell behind the Bison (19-17) 1-0 after Bethany plated a run in the first inning. The Jackets erased the early deficit with a three-spot in the bottom of the second frame and never trailed for the remainder of the contest.
 
Sophomore first baseman Matt Bensinger led off the second by reaching base by error and moved into scoring position when junior third baseman Jordan Truscott drew a walk. A sacrifice bunt by junior leftfielder Kyle Weyand moved Bensinger to third base and Truscott to second. Senior catcher Marc Timmons loaded the bases with a one-out walk to set the stage for senior centerfielder Clay Roman. The veteran outfielder showcased his skills as a bunter by giving himself up on a sacrifice that brought Bensinger home and tied the game at 1-1. The Jackets picked up their first big hit of the day during the next at-bat, when junior second baseman Neal Yakopin cracked a two-out, two-run double that made the score 3-1 Waynesburg.
 
The Orange and Black extended its advantage to 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Yakopin connected on a one-out single to get the offense rolling and sprinted to second base on a wild pitch. After a strikeout gave Bethany its second out of the inning, freshman shortstop Nathan Mori singled to right field to provide the eventual game-winning tally.
 
The Bison battled back with a run in the top of the fifth inning and two more in the sixth to tie things up at 4-4. Both offenses cooled off for most of the rest of the game, until the Jackets pulled out the victory in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Mori got the rally started with a one-out walk and moved to second base two batters later thanks to a free pass to Bensinger. With two runners on and two outs on the board, Truscott took advantage of his chance to play hero by slapping a walk-off single to centerfield that brought Mori home with the winning run.
 
Sophomore Derrick Zavatsky came in out of the bullpen to record the win on the mound. He worked the final 2.1 shutout innings and allowed just one base hit and three walks to shut down to the Bison bats. Freshman Luke Carter started and allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk.
 
Waynesburg picked up the victory despite being out-hit 11-to-six. Yakopin had two of those base knocks in four at-bats. He also scored twice and drove in a run.
 
Game two was all but decided after the first half-inning of play, as W&J (29-14) scored 11 runs in their first set of at-bats. To Waynesburg's credit, the Yellow Jackets out-scored the Presidents 9-5 over the final eight innings of play and didn't allow a run to the host team over the last five frames.
 
Bensinger went three-for-five with two triples, a double, an RBI and two runs scored during the comeback attempt. Timmons drove in a team-high three runs after going one-for-three with a double. Roman and junior leftfielder Ben Shorthouse scored two runs each.
 
Four different Waynesburg pitchers toed the rubber for the Jackets in the late game, but the most impressive performance of the contest for either team, and perhaps the first two days of the tournament, was turned in by freshman Derek Whalen. The rookie righty tossed four no-hit innings with just two walks and three strikeouts after W&J pounded out 19 hits over the first five frames.
 
Waynesburg's season may not be over just yet, as the Yellow Jackets still have the opportunity to compete in an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship tournament. The Yellow Jackets made team history in 2013, when they won the ECAC South tournament.