WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 2) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Thiel College for a nine-inning Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets and Tomcats battled over nine thrilling innings and a 43-minute rain delay. Sophomore first baseman Jonathon Kletzli's walk-off base hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gave the Jackets a thrilling 8-7 victory over the Cats.
 
The win moved Waynesburg (6-11-1, 4-2) into third place in the PAC standings. Thiel (16-5, 6-3) remains in second place in the conference.
 
The Tomcats opened the scoring with a two-spot in the top of the first inning. The visitors maintained their 2-0 lead until the bottom of the fourth, when junior centerfielder Matt Bensinger teed off on his first homerun of the season, a solo shot that cut the Waynesburg deficit in half at 2-1.
 
Thiel bounced back from giving up the long ball by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to move ahead 4-1. However, the Jackets showed their mettle by tying the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the frame.
 
Sophomore shortstop Nathan Mori started the rally with a one-out single. Bensinger followed with a single that was followed by a Thiel error that not only allowed him to move to second base, but brought Mori across home plate to make the score 4-2. Kletzli kept things rolling with an RBI triple that shrunk the Jackets' deficit down to a single run (4-3). Another Tomcat miscue, this one coming during the at-bat of junior catcher Tyler Rubasky, gave Kletzli the chance to come around and knot the score up at 4-4. The Tomcats picked up the final two outs to halt the Waynesburg rally.
 
Two innings after tying the score, the Jackets were finally able to take their first lead of the game when Kletzli singled to left-center field and plated Mori, making the score 5-4. Waynesburg didn't get to enjoy the lead for long, as the Tomcats rebounded with a three-spot in the top of the ninth inning that put them ahead 7-5.
 
The Yellow Jackets refused to concede, however, and prepared to make one final run at victory in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore designated hitter Ben Miller led off with a single and was pinch-run for by senior Kyle Weyand. Back-to-back singles by senior outfielders Ben Shorthouse and Eric Crum loaded the bases with no outs on the board. Senior sacrifice fly Neal Yakopin brought home the first run of the half-inning with a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 7-6. Two batters later, Kletzli put the wraps on a fantastic day at the ballpark with the game-deciding two-run base knock. Mori and Shorthouse scored the final tallies of the day.
 
Kletzli was almost unstoppable with a bat in his hand. The sophomore standout went three-for-five with a triple, a run scored and a game-high four RBI. Mori and Bensinger scored more than half of their team's run, crossing home plate three and two times, respectively.
 
Junior Brian Resnik got the start on the mound and put together his longest outing of the season. The righty worked into the ninth inning and allowed three earned runs on 10 hits and one walk. He struck out four in the no-decision. Sophomore Parker Beatty picked up the win on the mound after retiring the final Thiel batter of the game.
 
The same two teams are scheduled to meet up for a seven-inning doubleheader in Greenville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, April 4. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.