GROVE CITY, Pa. (March 9) – The Waynesburg University softball team traveled to Grove City on Tuesday for its third doubleheader in the past four days. After dropping the opener to the homestanding Wolverines, the Yellow Jackets bounced back for a comeback victory in the late contest.
 
Grove City (1-1) scored two runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth, as the Wolverines picked up a 4-1 triumph in the opener. Waynesburg (4-2) tallied its lone run of the early contest when junior Emily Schafer (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) singled in freshman Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway) in the top of the fourth frame.
 
Senior Emma Kubalak (Spring Mills, Pa. / Spring Valley) got the start in the circle and yielded four runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits and two walks. She posted a pair of strikeouts and suffered the loss after working 3.2 innings. Freshman Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) was outstanding in relief. She tossed 2.1 hitless frames over which she walked one and struck out another.
 
Sophomore Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa. / McGuffey) logged nearly half of Waynesburg's seven hits when she went three-for-four at the dish.
 
Grove City jumped out to a quick start in game two and looked poised to pick up a sweep after taking a 4-0 lead following the first two innings. Waynesburg chipped into the deficit with a run in the top of the third, when Hunter connected on a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Schafter to make the score 4-1.
 
GCC got the run back with a score in the fourth, before Waynesburg answered a two-spot in the top of the fifth. Hunter added a second RBI on a double and later came around to score on an error during a Brookman at-bat to make the score 5-3.
 
The Wolverines rebuilt a three-run advantage (6-3) with their final run of the day in the fifth. The Orange and Black took over from that point by not only shutting out the host squad over the final two frames, but opening up in a big way at the plate.
 
The Jackets started slowly when senior Hannah Batovsky (Brownsville, Pa. / Brownsville) drew a two-out walk with the bases loaded to make the score 6-4 in the sixth. Waynesburg saved its best work for last by posting the game-deciding runs in the top of the seventh.
 
Sophomore Reghan Benschoter (Newark, Ohio / Granville) continued her hot hitting by teeing off on her second homerun of the season. The two-run bomb, which also allowed Brookman to score, tied the score at 6-6. Singles by sophomore Lauren Lober (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) and freshman Emma Bliss (Uniontown, Pa. / Laurel Highlands) combined with a walk drawn by freshman Emily Huha (North Huntingdon, Pa. / Norwin) loaded the bases with one out on the board. That set the table for Schafer, who came through with the game-winning two-run double that brought about the final score of 8-6.
 
Brookman picked up the victory in the circle after another solid relief appearance. In game two, she allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings of work. Freshman Shay Giesey (Barnesville, Ohio / Monroe Central) started and allowed four runs over two innings.
 
Schafer tallied a quarter of her team's 12 hits, one of which was a double. She scored twice and posted two RBI's, while also stealing a base. Benschoter, Bliss and Lober tallied two hits each in the late contest.
 
Waynesburg is scheduled to return to action on Saturday, March 13, when it hosts Bethany for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.