WAYNESBURG, Pa. (April 30) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Bethany on Friday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader. The two teams battled each other and the cold, rainy conditions before splitting a pair of entertaining one-run contests.
 
Bethany (12-16, 10-11) jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead in the opener, before Waynesburg tied things up with a four-spot in the bottom of the frame. The Bison eventually came out on top of the back-and-forth affair by a 10-9 final score. Waynesburg (9-16, 7-13) rebounded in game two to pull out a 6-5 triumph.
 
Game one counted towards both squads' conference records, while the late contest only counted towards both teams' overall marks.
 
Junior Brandon Durbin (Cresson, Pa. / Bishop Carroll) tied the game with one swing of his bat when he belted a grand slam in the bottom of inning number one. The Bison rebuilt a four-run lead thanks to a two-spot in the top of the second and another in the top of the third.
 
After neither team scored in the fourth, Waynesburg started its second comeback of the day when junior Cody Ray (St Clairsville, Ohio / Union Local) singled home freshman Mike Bell (Herminie, Pa. / Yough) fifth. The visitors re-established its four-run advantage with a tally in the seventh, but the Jackets just wouldn't go away in game one.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Durbin struck again, this time with a two-run bomb that plated Bell and made the score 9-7. The Jackets used a little small ball to produce its eight run of the day. Freshman Zach Boslet (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona) did his job when he came to the plate with runners on second and third by connecting on a sacrifice fly that sent sophomore Joe Kraft (Munhall, Pa. / Steel Valley) sprinting home to make the score 9-8.
 
Bethany scored what wound up being the game-winning run in the top of the eighth, but, once again, Waynesburg had an answer. In the bottom of the inning, Bell came up with a two-run RBI single that plated Bell and brought about the eventual final score.
 
After the Jacket defense posted a one-two-three top of the ninth, Waynesburg put the game-tying run on the bases. Unfortunately, Bethany was able to induce the final out of the game to hold on for the victory.
 
Durbin recorded his most explosive game as a collegiate player in the setback. He went four-for-five with the two home runs, six RBI's and two runs scored. Ray also produced his best offensive game as a Jacket with a three-for-four showing and a pair of runs driven in.
 
Junior Joe Sabolek (Lynwood-Pricedale, Pa. / Belle Vernon) started and took the loss on the mound after allowing eight runs, six of which were earned, over 2.2 innings of work. Waynesburg's bullpen did a good job of calming things down and giving its team a chance at victory. Junior Corey Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Bethel Park) allowed two runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits and no walks over 5.1 innings. Senior Tyler Srbinovich (Warren, Ohio / Niles McKinley) logged a perfect ninth inning.
 
Game two saw Waynesburg roar out of the gates and never trail on its way to victory. Ray kept his hot day going with an RBI groundout that made the score 1-0 in the second. Srbinovich singled in Kraft to make the score 2-0 in the third before junior Ty Kildow (Bethesda, Ohio / Union Local) got a run home with a fielder's choice. The Jackets pieced together its third run of the inning and fourth of the game when Bell grounded out to plate Kildow.
 
After the Bison responded to the three-spot with its first tally of the evening in the fourth. The Jackets responded with a Srbinovich RBI single in the fourth that made the score 5-1. The host squad recorded what wound up being the game-winning run in the fifth when Ray produced a second RBI single in the game.
 
Trailing 6-1 in the sixth, Bethany started a rally of its own with four runs in the inning to make the score 6-5. The Bison put a pair of runners on base with just one out on the board in the top of the seventh, but freshman Ryan Sullivan (Taylorstown, Pa. / McGuffey) slammed the door by inducing back-to-back outs, including a game-ending strikeout.
 
Srbinovich and senior Chris Lee (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park) paced the Waynesburg offense with two-for-three showings at the plate. Lee doubled, while Srbinovich recorded a pair of RBI's.
 
Freshman Tyler Townsend (Normal, Ill. / Bloomington) started and got his first collegiate pitching victory after allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings of work. He logged four strikeouts in the win. Sullivan's late-inning heroics earned him a save.
 
The same two teams are scheduled to face each other in a doubleheader at Bethany on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.