WAYNESBURG, Pa. (March 21) – The Waynesburg University baseball team opened up Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Saturday with a home doubleheader against Grove City. The Yellow Jackets got two outstanding starting pitching performances during a split with the Wolverines.
 
Sophomore Luke Carter took the hill for the opener and worked 6.2 innings in a frustrating 3-2 loss, before junior Brian Resnick shut down the Grove City (5-7, 1-1) bats in a 5-0 complete-game shutout. The twin-bill also served as Waynesburg's (3-10, 1-1) home-opener.
 
The Jacket bats struggled to get going in the early contest, while Grove City built up a 3-0 advantage over the first 5.5 innings of play. Waynesburg's offense got rolling in the bottom of the sixth, when the home team pulled to within a run of the eventual victors.
 
Sophomore shortstop Nathan Mori led off the inning with a single and moved into scoring position on a groundout. Sophomore first baseman Jonathon Kletzli came through in a big situation with a one-out single to put runners on the corners with one out. After Kletzli moved to second on a wild pitch, junior catcher Tyler Rubasky plated Mori on a groundout to first base. Sophomore designated hitter Justin Davey kept things rolling with a two-out base knock to push Kletzli across home plate and make the score 3-2. Sophomore third baseman Cameron Bernhardt singled to put runners on the corners, but GCC was able to stop the rally with the game-tying run standing 90 feet from home plate.
 
The Wolverines put two runners on base in the top of the seventh, but sophomore pitcher Colton Lippencott came in to the game and recorded the third out. Unfortunately, Waynesburg was unable to recapture its offensive spark in the bottom of the frame and dropped the opener. Carter allowed three earned runs on seven hits and five walks in game one, while striking out a pair of Wolverines.
 
Resnik flashed the skills that earned him first-team All-PAC applause last season in game two. The junior righty allowed just three hits, all singles, and one walk over the seven-inning complete game. He struck out five Wolverines en route to his second win of the season.
 
Waynesburg's offense was much more effective in the late contest, as the Jackets scored the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior right fielder Eric Crum got things going with a leadoff single and a stolen base. Crum moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Mori and two batters later, he scored on a Kletzli single.
 
The Jackets added single runs in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings to build up a comfortable lead. Senior second baseman Neal Yakopin put an exclamation point on the victory by belting a towering solo homerun over the leftfield fence in the sixth.
 
Bernhardt proved to be a difficult out, as he went three-for-four with two walks and a run scored over the split. Kletzli and Crum notched two hits each on the day, while Kletzli scored a team-high two runs.
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Monday, when it hosts Pitt Greensburg for a single nine-inning game. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.