LEE COUNTY, Fla. (March 8) – The Waynesburg University softball team wrapped up its five-day stay at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic by playing its final two games of the trip on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker to Drew before falling 4-0 to Pitt Bradford.
 
Though the trip didn't end how the Yellow Jackets (5-3) would have liked, it did mark the first time since 2013 that Waynesburg will return from its spring break with a winning record.
 
The Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when freshman second baseman Lindsey Stenger scored on an error during the at-bat of freshman right fielder Marlee Ott. Unfortunately, The Rangers (6-2) answered in a big way by plating four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead. Drew added the eventual game-winning tally in the fourth to go ahead 5-1.
 
Waynesburg rallied with a three-run fifth that included RBI singles by junior leftfielder Cat Allstatt, sophomore third baseman Cheyenne Wasko and freshman first baseman Tara Staley. The Jackets had runners on first and second with just one out on the board, but were unable to come up with a game-tying score.
 
The Orange and Black had a chance to extend the game in the seventh after a two-out single by Staley, but the Jackets were unable to score freshman pinch-runner Hannah Batovsky.
 
Freshman Emma Kubalak started and took the loss in the circle after allowing four runs, all earned, on three hits and four walks over two innings. Freshman Miranda Bowers was solid in relief and kept victory within reach by giving up just one run over the final four frames. She walked two and struck out two.
 
Allstatt piled up a game-high three hits in four at-bats, while Staley and sophomore Courtney Syfert chipped in two base knocks each in the early contest. Syfert had Waynesburg's only extra-base hit, a double, and also stole a base.
 
The Jacket bats were limited to five hits in the team's final game in Florida. Bradford (4-2), meanwhile, scored the only run it needed in the bottom of the third. The Panthers added two scores in the fifth and one more in the sixth to seal up the victory.
 
Sophomore catcher Rachel Skon paced the Waynesburg offense with three hits, one of which was a double, in three at-bats. Junior pitcher Courtney Messenger suffered her first loss of the year in the circle (3-1) after working a six-inning complete game. She gave up 10 hits and a walk on the day.
 
The Jackets play their first game in Pennsylvania on Friday, March 16, when they travel to Carlow. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.