PITTSBURGH, Pa. (March 20) – The Waynesburg University baseball team traveled to La Roche on Sunday for a nine-inning showdown with the Redhawks. The Yellow Jackets recorded one of their most impressive wins in recent memory as they rolled past the traditional national powerhouse by a final score of 12-4.
The victory ended Waynesburg's (4-8) five-game losing streak against La Roche (4-7) that stretched back to the 2016 season.
Things didn't get off to a great start for the Jackets, who found themselves trailing 2-0 after two full innings of play. However, Waynesburg quickly erased that deficit and tallied more than enough offense for the win in the top of the third.
The visitors scored seven runs after sending 12 batters to the plate in the half-frame. Senior first baseman
Cody Ray (St. Clairsville, Ohio / Union Local) got things going with a walk and was moved to third on a single by freshman
Bryce Bedilion (Clarksville, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan). He came in to score when sophomore second baseman
Nolan Vertullo (Pittsburgh, Pa. / South Fayette) reached base on an error.
After Vertullo moved into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch, senior catcher
Tyler Woodrow (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single. Freshman shortstop
Todd Burner (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg) singled and freshman right fielder
Aidan Williams (Shaler, Pa. / Shaler) walked to load the bases. Woodrow then came in to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Graduate student right fielder
Brandon Durbin (Cresson, Pa. / Bishop Carroll) delivered the first big blow for Waynesburg on the day when he connected on a two-run double that put his team ahead 5-2. A walk to sophomore third baseman
Mike Bell (Herminie, Pa. / Yough) put runners on first and second for freshman centerfielder
Alec Engelmore (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler), who singled in Durbin and made the score 6-2. Ray completed the scoring in the inning for Waynesburg with an RBI double that sent Bell home to make the tally 7-2.
The Jacket lead grew to 8-2 in the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Bedilion. Williams and Engelmore posted RBIs in the sixth to grow Waynesburg's advantage to 10-2, before La Roche posted a two-spot of its own in the bottom of the inning. The Orange and Black put the finishing touches on the win in the top of the seventh, when Bedilion smacked a two-run single that brought about the final score of 12-4.
By the time the dust settled on Sunday, Waynesburg had outhit the opposition by a 14-5 deficit and drawn seven walks, while yielding just one free pass.
Vertullo, Woodrow, Burner, Engelmore, Ray and Bedilion all collected two hits each to pace a balanced offensive attack. Bedilion logged a game and personal collegiate-best three RBIs in the win, while Woodrow, Burner, Bell and Ray all scored twice.
Senior
Joe Sabolek improved to 2-1 on the season after getting the start on the mound and working six innings of quality ball. He allowed four runs on five hits and a walk, while racking up seven strikeouts on the day. Sophomore
Justin Clevenger (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette), sophomore
Ryan Sullivan (Taylorstown, Pa. / McGuffey) and senior
Corey Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Bethel Park) combined to pitch three perfect innings with two strikeouts to wrap up the victory.
The Jackets will try to carry the positive momentum from Sunday's big win into Tuesday's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener against Geneva. First pitch for the nine-inning matchup is scheduled for 4 p.m.
