WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 29) – The Waynesburg University baseball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader with Thiel on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets couldn't hold a big late lead during an 8-6 loss in game one, but bounced back with a resounding 11-4 victory in the late contest.
 
Waynesburg (16-19, 10-10) built a 5-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh inning. Unfortunately, senior starting pitcher Luke Carter, who rolled through the first six innings of play, walked the bases loaded and gave up Thiel's (20-15, 12-9) first run of the game, before being pulled for freshman Mason Miller.
 
Miller and senior Scott Hefty pitched the remainder of the seventh, which saw the Tomcats pile up all eight of their runs. Trailing 8-5 going to the bottom of the frame, Waynesburg got a solo homerun from junior leftfielder Tyler Godwin, his second long ball of the day. Unfortunately, that was as far as the Jackets' rally advanced, as Thiel was able to record the final two outs of the victory.
 
As previously mentioned, Carter was outstanding throughout the majority of the contest. He wound up being tagged for four runs on four hits, but battled some control issues that resulted in five walks. Carter notched three strikeouts in the no-decision.
 
Miller was tagged for the loss after allowing three earned runs on one hit and two hit batsmen over just two-thirds of an inning. Hefty yielded an unearned run on a hit and a walk.
 
Godwin enjoyed arguably his best game at the plate as a Yellow Jacket. He went four-for-four with two dingers, a double, five RBI and three runs scored.
 
Thiel carried some of its momentum from its improbable come-from-behind win into game two by taking a 1-0 lead into the second inning. However, the Jackets answered back in a big way, thanks in large part to senior catcher Ben Miller, who launched a grand slam in the bottom of the second that gave Waynesburg a 4-1 lead. The home team never looked back as it rolled to a crucial win.
 
Senior third baseman Cameron Bernhardt grew the Jacket advantage to 7-1 with a three-run bomb of his own in the third inning. Miller and Bernhardt both added to their respective RBI totals later in the game when they were both hit by pitches with the bases loaded in front of a large home crowd.
 
Senior pitcher Derek Whalen was the benefactor of the Jackets' offensive outburst, as he improved to 6-2 on the season. His six wins are second-most in the conference. Whalen allowed four runs, all earned, on six hits and a walk. The veteran righty piled up six strikeouts in the victory, before turning things over to freshman Jonny Kutchman for the seventh inning. Kutchman gave up two hits, but didn't allow a run in his only frame of relief work.
 
Godwin wound up going six-for-seven at the plate with two homeruns, a double, five RBI and four runs scored. He boasted an eye-popping 1.857 slugging percentage and an .857 on-base percentage.
 
Senior first baseman Jonathon Kletzli hit .571 (four-for-seven) over the split with a double, a walk, three runs scored and an RBI.
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Tuesday, when it hosts Bethany for a nine-inning PAC contest. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.