WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 14) – The Waynesburg University softball team hosted Thiel under warm sunny skies to end an exhausting week of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play. The Yellow Jackets split today's doubleheader wrapping a span of eight games in seven days.
 
Waynesburg (11-13, 4-6) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Junior first baseman Alex Lawrence singled in the game's first run and sophomore designated player Cheyenne Wasko plated run number two on a fielder's choice.
 
The Jacket lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth when the combination of a wild pitch and a throwing error allowed freshman right fielder Marlee Ott to score from second base. Ironically, Ott advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch.
 
Thiel (8-15, 3-4) cut its deficit down to one with a single run in the fifth and one more in the sixth. The Jackets bounced back by scoring their final tally of the game in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore second baseman Ashley Dubovich drew a bases-loaded walk that allowed sophomore centerfielder Courtney Syfert to trot home with the eventual game-winning run.
 
The Tomcats scored one more time in the top of the seventh, but left the potential game-tying and game-winning runs on the bases when junior starting pitcher Courtney Messenger induced a game-ending fly out to right field.
 
Waynesburg picked up the victory despite being outhit by a 12-four deficit. The home team took advantage of eight Thiel walks, three wild pitches and a pair of Tomcat errors that led an unearned run.
 
Messenger got the win after pitching all seven innings. She allowed two earned runs, struck out one and walked a batter.
 
The Tomcats got out to a quick 3-0 lead with a homerun in the first inning of game two, but were kept in check by sophomore starting pitcher Emma Kubalak, who put up nothing but zeroes over the next four frames. Waynesburg put together a 4-3 edge over that same time span and took a one-run advantage into the sixth inning.
 
Ott singled in a run in the second before the Jackets plated three scores in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Tara Staley came up with a pinch-hit RBI single to make the score 3-2, before Dubovich drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the score. Another wild pitch by the Tomcats brought junior shortstop Keri Renzler home with the go-ahead run.
 
Unfortunately, the Thiel bats heated back up and plated a combined seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings off Kubalak and Messenger to pick up the win. Along with giving up 14 hits, the Jackets were hurt by four errors in the late contest.
 
A total of 10 Jackets combined for 11 hits in the late contest. Syfert was the only member of the team to record multiple base knocks in the late contest.
 
Kubalak suffered the loss in the circle after allowing six runs on 10 hits and a walk over 5.1 innings of work. Messenger tossed the final 1.2 frames of the late contest.
 
Despite a disappointing split, Waynesburg still had reason to celebrate, as today served as a Strike Out Cancer event, with all proceeds from a 50-50 giveaway going towards cancer research The Jackets will get a little rest before hitting the road on Tuesday for a PAC doubleheader against Grove City. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.