PITTSBURGH, Pa. (April 21) – It was a day of firsts for the Waynesburg University baseball team, which squared off with Chatham in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets swept the Cougars by the final scores of 13-3 (seven innings) and 4-3.
 
Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between Waynesburg (9-19, 5-9) and Chatham (6-20, 0-14) and resulted in Waynesburg's first PAC doubleheader sweep of the year. The Jackets' wins in Pittsburgh also marked their first road victories of 2018.
 
Waynesburg banged out 14 hits in the opener, three of which came in a three-run first inning. Junior second baseman Tyler Reis and sophomore catcher John Przybylinski both connected on RBI singles in the opening frame, while senior leftfielder Tyler Godwin brought in the game's second run with a sacrifice fly.
 
Chatham responded by tying the game in the bottom half of the first inning with a three-spot of its own. Only one of the three runs were of the earned variety.
 
The visiting Yellow Jackets controlled the game from that point on, scoring three more runs in the second and one more in the fourth before blowing things wide open in the sixth with the game's final half-dozen tallies. The eventual game-winning runs came off the bat of Reis, who drilled a two-run triple in the second. Godwin followed with a run-scoring double that made the score 6-3.
 
Reis wound up capping the scoring in the opener by slapping an RBI infield single to third base. He was one of four Jackets who produced multi-hit efforts in the win, going three-for-five with a game-high four RBI and two runs scored.
 
Junior centerfielder Mitch Nordstrom went two-for-two with two walks, two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Przybylinski led all players at the plate with an impressive four-for-five showing that produced two RBI and a run scored. Sophomore shortstop Vinny Monico chipped in a single and a double over four at-bats with a run scored and two RBI.
 
All that production at the plate was more than enough support for sophomore starting pitcher Jonny Kutchman, who allowed three runs, just one of which was earned, over six solid innings. He gave up eight hits, but didn't walk a batter, and struck out seven Cougars. Junior Ty Wickline worked the seventh-and-final inning, during which he didn't give up a hit.
 
Patience at the plate and an excellent showing by the bullpen combined to lead the Jackets to a gritty victory in game two. Three Chatham pitchers combined to issue 11 walks, two of which came with the bases loaded leading to half of Waynesburg's runs.
 
The game-deciding score came in the bottom of the sixth. After Reis walked with the bags packed to make the score 3-2 Chatham, Godwin followed with the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single that put the Jackets in the lead.
 
Both pitching staffs took over from that point forward, as neither bullpen allowed a run over the final third of the contest. Freshman Zach Straub, junior Nate Gearhart and freshman Tyler Srbinovich combined to allow just one base hit and one walk to close out the victory. Srbinovich earned his third save of the season by tossing a perfect ninth inning that included a strikeout.
 
Sophomore Colton Uzzell improved to 3-1 on the year after giving up a run over two innings of relief. He yielded one hit and struck out four opposing batters. Uzzell came into the game to replace senior starter Noah Lolley, who worked the first four innings on the mound.
 
Waynesburg will look to carry its momentum from today's sweep into Saturday's doubleheader at Thiel. First pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 1 p.m. in Greenville.