MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (March 6) – The Waynesburg University softball team faced Rosemont and Eastern Nazarene during Monday's action at the Fast Pitch Dreams Spring Classic. The Yellow Jackets picked up a two-game sweep by downing Rosemont 7-3 and Eastern Nazarene11-2 (five innings).
Game one saw the Yellow Jackets (3-1) fall behind 1-0 after the Ravens (2-2) picked up an unearned run in the first.
Waynesburg got that score back and added three more to take a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the second. Freshman
Alyssa Rager (Washington, Pa. / Trinity), one of several Jacket newcomers who have made an impact on the trip, tied the score with an RBI single that scored another freshman,
Jasmine Demaske (Waynesburg, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan). Two batters later, first-year sophomore
Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) drove home sophomore
Dilyn Roberts (Sellersburg, Ind. / Henryville) and freshman
Emily Barker (Mount Sterling, Ohio / Fayette Christian) to give the Jackets their first lead at 3-1.
The Orange and Black picked up the eventual game-winning run thanks to an error committed during the at-bat of senior
Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa. / McGuffey).
Rosemont pulled to within a run of tying the score thanks to scores in the second and third frames. Leading 4-3, the Jackets grabbed two critical insurance runs in the top of the fourth that gave them some breathing room. Senior
Reghan Benschoter (Newark, Ohio / Granville) made the score 5-3 by singling in Hunter. The next batter, sophomore
Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan), grew her team's advantage to three with an RBI single of her own.
Sophomore starting pitcher
Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va. / Clay-Battelle) and her defense settled down and kept the Ravens off the board for innings four through seven to preserve the victory. However, the Jacket bats weren't quite done, as Higgins recorded an RBI groundout that allowed Rager to sprint home with the final run of the contest.
Wilson picked up her first win of the season from the circle and improved to 1-1 after tossing a complete game. She allowed two earned runs on 10 hits. She didn't walk a batter and piled up seven strikeouts in her most recent outing.
Senay paced her team's 11-hit performance by going four-for-four with an RBI. Benschoter posted a multi-hit game of her own by going two-for-four with an RBI and a run scored.
Game two featured a second-straight impressive performance from freshman pitcher
Autumn Stemple (Morgantown, W.Va. / University). Stemple improved to 2-0 on the year after allowing two runs on a pair of solo homers during an 11-2 victory that took five innings to complete. She allowed just two other hits during her latest outing and racked up nine strikeouts.
Waynesburg got all the offense it needed for its latest win in the top of the first inning. Hunter and freshman
Kassidy Trimble (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South) opened the scoring when they scored on a hit and an error during the first at-bat of the game of junior
Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston). Brookman herself came around to score during the ensuing at-bat of junior
Emma Bliss (Uniontown, Pa. / Laurel Highlands).
Bliss picked up another RBI on a third-inning groundout that brought Hunter into score and give Waynesburg a 4-0 advantage. Sophomore
Hannah Yorty (Monessen, Pa. / Monessen) made the score 5-0 thanks to an RBI double that plated Demaske in the top of the fourth.
The Lions (0-1) posted their back-to-back long balls in the bottom of the frame, but the Jacket bats were more than prepared to answer the challenge.
The Orange and Black blew up for six runs in a fifth inning that was highlighted by Demaske teeing off on her first collegiate homerun, a three-run bomb that brought about the eventual final score of 11-2. Prior to the long ball, Hunter drilled an RBI triple, before Brookman doubled home run number seven.
Stemple locked down the victory by inducing a popout to second base and a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the frame.
Five different Waynesburg players recorded at least two hits each in the squad's most recent victory. Hunter led the charge by going three-for-three and coming a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle. She also scored three times and recorded one RBI.
Trimble, Brookman, Demaske and freshman
Paige McAvoy (Canonsburg, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) added two hits each on the night. Demaske posted a game-high three RBIs and scored twice. Trimble, Brookman and Demaske scored two runs each.
After four games in two days, Waynesburg gets Tuesday off to prepare for the second half of their stay in Myrtle Beach. The Jackets get back to work on Wednesday, March 8, when they face Penn State Abington and North Carolina Wesleyan at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
