WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 19) – The Waynesburg University baseball team traveled north up I-79 for an important Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader with Washington & Jefferson. The Yellow Jackets combined outstanding pitching with just enough offense to record the sweep.
 
Junior Luke Carter was the star in the opener, tossing a complete-game 2-0 shutout. Waynesburg (10-18, 8-6) gave junior Derek Whalen his first start of the season, and he responded by leading the Jackets to a 2-1 victory in the late contest.
 
Carter allowed five singles and two walks en route to earning his second win of the season. He struck out five Presidents (14-13, 8-6) and allowed just one batter to advance past second base.
 
Waynesburg notched the eventual game-winning run in the top of the third inning when senior first baseman Matt Bensinger doubled in junior centerfielder Josh Hausler to break up a 0-0 tie. Sophomore left fielder Tyler Godwin posted an insurance run when he singled home freshman Tyler Reis in the seventh.
 
Whalen kept W&J off the scoreboard until the home team scored its only run of the day in the bottom of the fifth inning. By that point, Waynesburg had already built a 2-0 advantage. Junior shortstop Nathan Mori scored the game's first run when Hausler drove a sacrifice fly to center field. The eventual game-winning tally came across home plate in the fourth. Junior Cameron Bernhardt slapped a single through the left side of the infield that allowed Reis to score his second run of the twin bill.
 
With his team clinging to a one-run lead, Whalen snuffed out any chance of a W&J comeback by retiring the last seven batters he faced over the final two-plus innings. The junior righty scattered five hits and didn't walk a batter over seven frames on the mound. He picked up two strikeouts in his second win of the season.
 
Godwin paced the Waynesburg offense by going four-for-eight at the plate with an RBI. Three of those base knocks came in the opener.
 
The Jackets will go for the three-game season series sweep tomorrow, when they welcome the Presidents to Waynesburg for a nine-inning PAC matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.