WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 23) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Saint Vincent Friday afternoon for a single nine-inning Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup. Freshman second baseman
Nolan Vertullo (Pittsburgh, Pa. / South Fayette) capped off a three-run comeback, driving home the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 walk-off victory.
Vertullo was one of two Yellow Jacket batters to record multiple hits in the contest, finishing his day with a two-for-five effort. Senior right fielder
Brandon Durbin (Cresson, Pa. / Bishop Carroll) went two-for-four with a run scored.
The game featured strong pitching from both sides, as junior starting pitcher
Joe Sabolek (Lynnwood-Pricedale, Pa. / Belle Vernon) and Saint Vincent's Jimmy Malone kept each team's respective lineups scoreless through five innings. The Bearcats (13-11, 12-7) finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning, tallying one run on a two-out single to go up 1-0.
Sabolek exited the game after that inning, leaving his line at 6.0 innings pitched, allowing seven hits and one run with no walks and two strikeouts.
Saint Vincent added another run in the seventh to take a 2-0 lead. Waynesburg (7-16, 5-15) continued to put runners on base, but struggled to get a run across home plate.
Malone exited the game in the bottom of the seventh with two outs in favor of Bearcat closer, Matt Evans, who entered the day second in the conference in saves. Evans logged the final out of the frame.
In the bottom of the eighth, Waynesburg finally broke through against the opposition. Freshman third baseman
Mike Bell (Herminie, Pa. / Yough) led off the inning by being hit by a pitch. He was followed immediately by a Durbin single and a pinch-hit bunt single by freshman outfielder
Zach Boslet (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona) to load the bases with no outs.
Saint Vincent managed to get a force out at home in the next at-bat, keeping the bases loaded with one out. Junior catcher
Tyler Woodrow (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) then hit a ground ball to short that Saint Vincent tried to turn a double play. The second baseman wound up throwing the ball away trying to get Woodrow at first, allowing both Durbin and Boslet to score and tied the game at 2-2.
Still tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth after a scoreless inning from junior pitcher
Corey Fischer (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park), junior designated hitter
Evan Homison (Mars, Pa. / Mars), who had pinch-run for senior
John Przybylinski (Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville) earlier in the contest, drew a walk in his lone at bat of the day to lead off the inning. Senior centerfielder
Ryan Mills (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) then sacrificed Homison over to second to set the table for Vertullo.
The freshman came through in a big way, getting back at Evans after striking out in the previous at-bat and slapping the game-winning single through the right side, with Homsion just barely beating the throw from the right fielder for the 3-2 victory.
Fischer got the win by pitching the final three innings, allowing three hits and one run with one strikeout.
Waynesburg finishes the series against Saint Vincent on Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. First pitch of game one is set for 2 p.m.
