AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 6) – The Waynesburg University baseball team faced off with Eastern Mennonite on Monday as part of its annual Spring Break trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Yellow Jacket bats lit up the scoreboard for 15 hits, as Waynesburg scored its first win of the season, 11-4.
 
After neither team was able to plate a run in the first inning, Waynesburg (1-3) opened the scoring in the top of the second thanks to a two-run double by sophomore Bryce Bedilion (Clarksville, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) that plated freshman Hunter Hamilton (Holbrook, Pa. / West Greene) and junior Lane Ours (Moorefield, W.Va. / Moorefield).
 
After EMU (3-9) picked up a run in the third, Waynesburg responded with a three-spot in the top of the fourth. Bedilion got things started by singling home Ours. The next batter, sophomore Alec Engelmore (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler), drove home Bedilion and Hamilton to put the Orange and Black up 5-1.
 
The Yellow Jackets took firm control of the game's outcome with a pair of tallies in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Ours and Bedilion posted an RBI each in fifth. Junior Nolan Vertullo (Pittsburgh, Pa. / South Fayette) lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth to bring home senior Todd Burner (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South) and make the score 8-1. Ours logged yet another run driven in when his fielder's choice allowed sophomore Aidan Williams (Shaler, Pa. / Shaler) to sprint home with his team's ninth run. Back-to-back hits by Hamilton and Bedilion produced run number 10 for the Jackets, which was brought in by a Bedilion two-bagger.
 
The Royals showed some life by bringing home three runs in the seventh that made the score 10-4. However, Waynesburg closed out the scoring in the top of the eighth when Ours walked and sprinted home on an error.
 
Freshman Gavin Pratt (Carmichaels, Pa. / Carmichaels) picked up his first collegiate victory on the mound and improved to 1-1 on the year after allowing four runs, all earned, on 12 hits and two walks over seven innings of work. Freshman Ethan Erhard put together a second-straight strong performance out of the bullpen to seal up the victory. He allowed just a hit and a walk over two scoreless innings and logged two strikeouts.
 
Four different Jackets posted multi-hit performances, including Bedilion, who went a game-best four-for-six at the dish with two doubles, a run scored and a contest-high five RBIs. Burner tagged three doubles in six trips to the plate, while Hamilton and Williams posted identical lines (two-for-four, a walk, two runs scored). Ours was the definition of efficiency and plate patience as he went one-for-two with three walks, a game-high five runs scored and two RBIs.
 
Waynesburg will try to keep the bats hot over the next 24 hours, as it faces Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Tuesday, March 7. First pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m.