WAYNESBURG, Pa. (March 16) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Penn State Altoona on Thursday for a non-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets dropped both halves of the twin bill by the scores of 5-0 and 5-3.
 
The Waynesburg (3-7) bats struggled to get started in the opener, as they produced just four hits over the first seven innings of the day. Junior Marcos Mendez (Ponce, Puerto Rico / Westminster (Md.)) logged two of those base knocks, one of which was a double. Junior Lane Ours (Moorefield, W.Va. / Moorefield) also doubled in the opener.
 
Penn State Altoona (5-9) scored a run in the third, another in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take the win.
 
Freshman Gavin Pratt (Carmichaels, Pa. / Carmichaels) got the start on the mound for Waynesburg and lasted 3.2 innings. He allowed two runs, one of which was earned, on four hits and four walks. Perhaps the biggest highlight of game one was freshman Zach Scibelli (Ravenna, Ohio / Ravenna), who tossed two perfect innings of relief with a strikeout to close out the opener.
 
Game two got off to a much better start for Waynesburg, which scored its first run of the day in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Todd Burner (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South) singled in sophomore Alec Engelmore (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler) to give the Jackets a 1-0 edge.
 
The Lions fired back with a pair of scores in the top of the second and held their 2-1 advantage until the bottom of the fourth, when a triple by sophomore Dalton Mount (Sykesville, Md. / Westminster) brought Mendez home with the game-tying run.
 
Waynesburg regained the lead in the fifth thanks to a run-scoring single by sophomore Bryce Bedilion (Clarksville, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) that sent Engelmore sprinting home from second base to put the home team ahead 3-2. Unfortunately, that advantage only lasted until the top of the sixth, when the Lions scored twice to moved ahead 4-3. Penn State Altoona added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and kept Waynesburg at bay in the bottom of the frame to complete the sweep.
 
The Jackets out-hit the opposition 8-7 in the late contest, with Bedilion and Mount logging two knocks each. Freshman Ethan Erhard (Greensburg, Pa. / Hempfield) worked 6.1 of the game's seven innings, during which he allowed five runs on six hits and four walks. Engelmore closed out the game by facing the final three batters of the day.
 
Waynesburg has just one night to put Thursday's setbacks behind it, as the Jackets are scheduled to host Pitt Bradford for another non-conference doubleheader on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.