WAYNESBURG, PA. (April 21) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Saint Vincent for a crucial Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game. After falling into an early hole, the Yellow Jackets battled back to pull out a 5-4 win over the Bearcats.
 
With the victory, Waynesburg (13-17, 7-8) pulled into a tie for fifth place in the PAC standings with Saint Vincent (13-16, 7-8). The top-four teams qualify for the conference championship tournament.
 
The visiting team jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 2.5 innings. The Jackets got on the board in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI single by senior centerfielder Josh Hausler and a sacrifice fly by senior shortstop Nate Mori.
 
Saint Vincent reestablished a two-run lead (4-2) with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Waynesburg offense was just about ready to grab its first lead of the day.
 
Mori got things going in the fifth inning, this time by producing an RBI double that plated senior third baseman Cameron Bernhardt and made the score 4-3. Sophomore second baseman Tyler Reis continued his hot hitting with a go-ahead two-run double that sent Mori and Hausler sprinting home to put the Jackets in the driver's seat.
 
Senior starting pitcher Derek Whalen and relievers Ty Wickline and Mason Miller combined to make the one-run lead hold up down the stretch of the victory. Miller gave up a lead-off single in the ninth inning and the runner eventually moved to third base with one out on the board. However, the freshman righty was able pick up a strikeout for out number two and ended the game with a harmless foul out.
 
Whalen recorded up his team-leading fifth win on the mound of 2017 after giving up four earned runs on 11 hits and no walks. He struck out a pair of Bearcats for his most recent victory.
 
Wickline retired the only batter he was asked to face, before Miller logged his third save of the season. The day's closer piled up an impressive five strikeouts over 2.2 innings of work. Miller allowed three hits and didn't walk an opposing batter.
 
Reis boosted his season batting average to an .400 after going three-for-four with a double and two RBI. Hausler and Bernhardt both went two-for-three at the dish. Eight of the nine batters in Waynesburg's lineup collected at least one hit each in the win.
 
The same two teams will meet up to complete their season series on Sunday, April 23, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.