GREENVILLE, Pa. (April 5) – The Waynesburg University softball team opened up Presidents' Athletic Conference play with a road doubleheader against the Thiel Tomcats. The Yellow Jackets scored early and often in game one and came from behind with a huge fifth inning in game two to sweep the twin bill by scores of 7-2 and 12-6, respectively.
 
The Yellow Jackets (11-9, 2-0) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to sacrifice flies from freshman first baseman Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) and freshman third baseman Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) sandwiched around a Thiel fielding error that allowed sophomore left fielder Reghan Benschoter (Newark, Ohio / Granville) to score.
 
Thiel answered back in the bottom of the first with a run of its own to cut the deficit to 3-1. Waynesburg responded with another run in the top of the second when sophomore catcher Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa. / McGuffey) doubled in senior centerfielder Hannah Batovsky (New Salem, Pa. / Brownsville) to push the lead back to three.
 
The Yellow Jackets added one run in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings to extend their lead to 7-1. Thiel got one run back in the bottom of the seventh, but senior pitcher Emma Kubalak (Spring Mills, Pa. / Penns Valley) was able to finish off the complete-game winner with minimal damage.
 
Kubalak allowed 12 hits and one walk in her seven innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out three Tomcat batters to get the win.
 
Offensively, eight of the nine starting batters recorded a hit, while seven of the nine had RBIs. Batovsky finished the game going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, senior right fielder Kayla Alderson (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) was 2-for-2 with two doubles, and Hunter went 2-for-5 with a double and a triple.
 
Game two featured a lot of back-and-forth play between the two teams. Thiel opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. Senay tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second by driving in Alderson on a fielder's choice.
 
The Yellow Jackets took their first lead of the game in the top of the third, scoring two runs to take a 3-1 lead. Thiel took the lead right back in the bottom half of the frame with three runs of their own, pushing the score to 4-3 in favor of the home squad.
 
Waynesburg again tied things up in the fourth inning, as Hunter drove in freshman shortstop Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway). The Tomcats took the lead once more in the bottom of the fourth, plating two to take a 6-4 advantage.
 
The Waynesburg offense exploded in the fifth inning to take the lead for good. The Yellow Jackets totaled seven runs on nine hits in the frame as the team batted through the order and move ahead 11-6.
In the top of the seventh, Waynesburg added its twelfth and final run of the afternoon on an RBI double by Benschoter that scored Hunter. Brookman pitched the final 3.2 innings of the contest, allowing just four hits and a walk and no runs while striking out three to grab her fifth win of the season.
 
Offensively, Alderson was a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Benschoter went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs, while freshman first baseman Emma Bliss went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run. Brookman, Senay, and sophomore second baseman Lauren Lober (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) each had two RBIs in the triumph.
 
The Yellow Jackets return to the diamond when they travel to Chatham on Wednesday, April 7. First pitch of the first game of the doubleheader is set for 6:30 p.m.