WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 17) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Thiel Saturday afternoon for a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets came back from an early deficit to win game one 6-5 but lost the second game by a score of 17-1 for a split.
 
In game one, Waynesburg (6-14, 4-13) struck first in the first inning when freshman third baseman Mike Bell (Herminie, Pa. / Yough) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring senior designated hitter Chris Lee (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park). Unfortunately for the home squad, Thiel was able to work out of the jam without any further damage.
 
Thiel (7-13, 5-12) took the lead in the top of the third, scoring four runs thanks to two homers in the inning to take a 4-1 lead.
 
The Yellow Jackets tied things up in the bottom of the fifth starting with an RBI-double by senior right fielder Brandon Durbin (Cresson, Pa. / Bishop Carroll). Bell followed with an RBI groundout to move Durbin up to third and put the score at 4-3. Senior left fielder Ryan Mills (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) followed up Bell by lifting a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 4-4.
 
Waynesburg took a 6-4 lead in the sixth inning courtesy of a bases-loaded, two-RBI single by junior catcher Tyler Woodrow (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland).
 
In the top of the seventh, junior pitcher Corey Fischer (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park) got two quick outs, but the Thiel bats briefly came to life with back-to-back hits, the second of which drove in a run and saw the tying run reach second base. Head coach Mike Humiston brought in senior pitcher Tyler Srbinovich (Warren, Ohio / Niles McKinley) to finish off the Jacket win. He did so with a strikeout to record the save and secure the 6-5 decision.
 
Durbin was the lone Yellow Jacket with multiple hits, going two-for-three with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Bell drove in two runs, as did Woodrow. Fischer grabbed the win after tossing 3.2 innings of three-hit, one-run ball with one walk and one strikeout.
 
Game two was all Thiel from the start, although Waynesburg was in striking distance for most of the first half of the game. The Tomcats were leading 4-0 in the fourth and added one more in the fifth before their first offensive outburst. Leading 5-0, Thiel plated five more in the top of the sixth inning to push the lead to 10-0.
 
Waynesburg pushed its lone run of the contest across in the seventh inning as junior first baseman Nolan Porterfield (Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville) drove in freshman pitcher Justin Clevenger (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) on a groundout.
 
Thiel had another big inning in the eighth, pushing across eight runs to bring the game to its 17-1 final. The Yellow Jackets had nine hits in the contest as a team, but left 10 men on base.
 
Senior second baseman Ty Kildow (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) and Clevenger each had two hits in the contest to lead the Waynesburg offensive efforts in game two. Freshman pitcher Ryan Sullivan (Taylorstown, Pa. / McGuffey) took the loss, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits.  
 
Waynesburg will be back in action Sunday, April 18, for the final two games of the four-game series with Thiel. Game one will count towards each team's PAC record, while game two will only count towards the overall records. First pitch from Greenville, Pennsylvania, is set for 2 p.m.