WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 11) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted W&J for a doubleheader Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately for the home squad, the Presidents' managed to put up double digit runs in both contests to win the games 10-4 and 12-0, respectively.
In game one, which was a nine-inning contest that counted towards each team's Presidents' Athletic Conference record, #17 W&J (20-0, 15-0) scored two runs in the first, five runs in the fourth, and three runs in the fifth to build up to a 10-0 lead.
Senior starting pitcher
Zach Straub (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park) settled in for the second and third innings, respectively, sitting down all six of those President batters in order. In the fourth inning, though, they were able to string multiple hits together and force a pitching change.
The Yellow Jackets (4-12, 2-11) finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as freshman second baseman
Nolan Vertullo (Pittsburgh, Pa. / South Fayette) drove in freshman third baseman
Mike Bell (Herminie, Pa. / Yough) with an RBI single. Waynesburg added another in the seventh inning on an run-scoring single by Bell, who drove in senior shortstop
Ty Kildow (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local).
The Yellow Jackets got their final two runs in the eighth inning, as junior first baseman
Cody Ray (St. Clairsville, Ohio / Union Local) knocked in Vertullo with a single and Kildow followed that up with a sacrifice fly to bring the score to bring about the final score of 10-4.
W&J didn't score again after the fifth inning thanks to junior pitcher
Chris Agnew (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour), who entered the game in relief to get the final two outs of the fifth. Agnew proceeded to finish out the final 4.2 innings of the game, during which he allowed just two hits, three walks and striking out nine opposing hitters. Those nine strikeouts are the most by any Yellow Jacket pitcher in 2021. The innings pitched and strikeouts were easily a career-best for the left-hander.
Offensively in game one, Bell, senior centerfielder
Ryan Mills (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) and senior right fielder
Brandon Durbin (Cresson, Pa. / Bishop Carroll) led the way with two hits each.
Game two, a seven-inning game that did not count towards each team's PAC record, stayed a little closer over the first five innings, as the Presidents held just a 3-0 lead going into the sixth. However, an eight-run outburst effectively put the game out of reach for the Yellow Jackets, bringing the score to 11-0 before W&J added one more in the seventh.
The Yellow Jackets will be back in action at home this Tuesday, April 13, as they play a make-up doubleheader for a postponed series against Chatham. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
