WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 17) – The Waynesburg University softball team hosted the PAC-leading Geneva Golden Tornadoes Saturday afternoon for a conference doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets kept things close early in both games, but eventually Geneva pulled away to win both ends of the doubleheader by scores of 12-7 and 7-3.
 
In the first game, Geneva (26-4, 9-1) jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the top of the fourth inning. However, Waynesburg (11-13, 2-4) cut down the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI single by freshman first baseman Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston). Sophomore left fielder Reghan Benschoter (Newark, Ohio / Granville) pushed the team to within one in the bottom of the fifth by launching her fourth home run of the season, a solo shot, to put the score at 3-2.
 
The sixth inning is where both teams broke through offensively. In the top half of the frame, Geneva plated nine runs, recording nine hits in the inning and taking advantage of a Yellow Jacket error to go up 12-2 before recording their third out. Waynesburg had an answer, though, getting back five runs of their own in the bottom half of the sixth.
 
Brookman led off the frame with a home run. A few batters later, sophomore second baseman Lauren Lober (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) drove in another run on a fielder's choice to bring the score to 12-4. Three batters later, sophomore catcher Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa. / McGuffey) connected on an RBI single to score Lober, making it 12-5. In the next at-bat, Benschoter produced a two-run double to bring the score to 12-7.
 
Unfortunately, that's as close as the host squad came to completing what would have been a memorable comeback.
 
Benschoter drove in four runs in the contest with a two-for-four effort that included two extra-base hits. Brookman added a two-for-three showing with a walk, a run scored, and RBI.
 
In the second game, Waynesburg struck first in the third inning thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman third baseman Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan), scoring Benschoter. However, Geneva scored three runs in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.
 
The Yellow Jackets cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the fourth, as Benschoter drove in Hunter on an RBI single. However, the Golden Tornadoes got out of the jam and then, in the sixth inning, added four more runs to push their lead to 7-2 over the Yellow Jackets.
 
Senay rounded out the scoring for Waynesburg in the second contest with an RBI double that plated Benschoter to bring the game to its 7-3 final.
 
Benschoter went three-for-three at the plate with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Brookman was the only other Jacket with multiple hits, going two-for-four. On the mound, Brookman tossed a complete game, allowing 10 hits and seven runs with six strikeouts.