WAYNESBURG, Pa. (May 8) – The Waynesburg University baseball team ended the 2022 season on a high note by taking two-of-three from Chatham this weekend and winning its season series with the Cougars. The Jackets' most recent victory was an 8-4 home triumph on Sunday.
 
Game three of the series started with a scoreless first inning. It didn't take Waynesburg (14-25, 20-17) long to break up the shutout, as junior shortstop Todd Burner (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South) teed off on his team-leading sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the second. The three-run bomb also brought in freshman Aidan Williams (Shaler, Pa. / Shaler) and graduate student Chris Lee (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park).
 
The Yellow Jackets blew the game open in the bottom of the third, as they plated five runs to jump ahead 8-0. Senior catcher Tyler Woodrow (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) drove in his final run at Waynesburg with an infield single to make the score 4-0. Williams, who also started and got the win on the mound, followed with a two-run double that stretched the home team's lead to 6-0. Burner, who was the next Jacket to the plate, drove in runs four and five on the afternoon with a two-bagger of his own.
 
After neither team was able to score in innings four and five, Chatham (13-25, 5-22) found its offense and posted a run in the sixth and three more in the eighth. However, that's as far as the visitors' rally advanced, and the Jackets were able to shut the door and end the campaign on a winning note.
 
Burner, Lee and freshman Bryce Bedilion (Clarksville, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) tallied two hits each to pace the Waynesburg offense. Williams scored two runs and drove in two more, but his biggest impact came on the mound.
 
He earned his first pitching win of the season after throwing well over 100 pitches during 7.2 innings of work. He allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk, while posting a strikeout.
 
Prior to Sunday's season finale, Waynesburg and Chatham met up in Pittsburgh for a conference doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets took game one 5-2, before Chatham bounced back with a 5-1 triumph in the late contest.
 
After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning of game one, Waynesburg bounced back with two runs in the third. Bedilion tied the game with an RBI groundout and Woodrow put his team up 2-1 with a run-scoring single.
 
The Jackets tallied the eventual game-winning run in the fourth off an RBI double by senior Cody Ray (St. Clairsville, Ohio / Union Local). Ray came across home plate thanks to an RBI double by graduate student Brandon Durbin (Cresson, Pa. / Bishop Carroll) that made the score 4-1.
 
After Chatham scored its final run of game one in the bottom of the fourth, Woodrow gave his team one more insurance score in the sixth to bring about the eventual final score of 5-2.
 
Senior Corey Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Bethel Park) improved to 4-2 on the season after picking up the win on the mound. He allowed two runs on 11 hits and no walks with a strikeout. Engelmore entered the game in the seventh and recorded his team-leading third save of the year by logging the game's final two outs, one of which was a strikeout.
 
Saturday's late game saw the home team build a 4-0 lead after it plated three runs in second inning and one more in the fourth. Waynesburg broke up the shutout in the seventh thanks to a Durbin double. The Cougars put up the day's final tally in the bottom of the frame.
 
Bedilion got the start and worked six solid innings on the mound. He allowed four runs on six hits and no walks. He posted five strikeouts in his final pitching appearance of the year. Sophomore Ryan Sullivan (Taylorstown, Pa. / McGuffey) worked the final two frames of the contest. He allowed one run on three hits and no walks, while posting three strikeouts of his own.