WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 15) – The Waynesburg University baseball team traveled north up I-79 on Saturday for an afternoon doubleheader with the Presidents. The Yellow Jackets scored their biggest win of the year as they split the twin bill with the three-time defending Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champions.
 
Freshman Dalton Lucey (Holbrook, Pa. / West Greene) stole the show for Waynesburg (11-19, 7-7) by facing down the potent W&J bats (19-10, 10-2) and posting nothing but goose eggs for the first six innings of play. His teammates didn't waste the effort, as they built up a 5-0 lead over that same time frame.
 
The Jackets jumped on the opposing starter in the top of the first with singles by sophomore Seth Burgdolt (Taylorstown, Pa. / McGuffey) and junior Mike Bell (Herminie, Pa. / Yough). Two batters later, junior Marcos Mendez (Ponce, Puerto Rico / Westminster)) brought both baserunners home with a two-run double that made the score 2-0.
 
After Lucey retired the top of the Presidents' lineup in order in the bottom of the first, freshman Gavin Pratt (Carmichaels, Pa. / Carmichaels) slapped a leadoff single in the top of the second. Sophomore Dalton Mount (Sykesville, Md. / Westminster) followed with a single of his own and both were moved up 90 feet thanks to a sacrifice bunt by junior Todd Burner (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South).
 
A walk to Burgdolt loaded the bases for Bell, who came through with a two-run single that doubled the Jacket advantage to 4-0.
 
Waynesburg maintained its four-run lead until the top of the sixth, when Mount drilled a leadoff triple and came around to score thanks to a Burner sacrifice fly.
 
Trailing 5-0, W&J finally broke through against Lucey and the Jacket defense, which played nine error-free innings in game one, by scoring its first run in the bottom of the seventh. After a scoreless eighth, the Presidents used a two-run homer to pull to within two of tying the score. However, Lucey completed his ironman 116-pitch performance by retiring two of the final three batters he faced to close out the victory, which snapped the Jackets' 14-game losing streak against W&J that stretched back to 2017.
 
Waynesburg outhit the opposition by a 13-6 margin. Bell and sophomore Bryce Bedilion (Clarksville, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) led the charge by collecting three hits each. Burgdolt and Mount added two hits each to the attack.
 
The Jackets got off to another hot start in game two with a run in the first and three more in the second. Facing down W&J ace Tyler Horvat, Bedilion led off the game with a double and Burgdolt followed with a walk. Bell bunted both runners into scoring position, but a fielder's choice put the early rally in danger. However, junior Lane Ours (Moorefield, W.Va. / Moorefield) produced in the clutch with an RBI double.
 
After the first two Jacket batters were retired in the top of the second, Burner drilled a two-out triple to keep the frame going. Bedilion laced a second-straight two-out hit: an RBI single. Burgdolt made it three knocks in a row with a single and Bell plated Bedilion with a single of his own to make the score 3-0. Sophomore Alec Engelmore (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler) posted a fifth-straight hit for Waynesburg to drive in Burgdolt and make the score 4-0.
 
Unfortunately, the President bats broke out in the fourth for a five spot that gave W&J its first lead of the day at 5-4. Waynesburg tied things up at 5-5 in the top of the seventh after Bell added another RBI to his day's work, this one scoring Burner.
 
W&J moved ahead for good in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out base hit that plated the go-ahead run. The Presidents added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth to close out the win.
 
Once again, Waynesburg reached double digits in hits (11) against a President pitching staff that is currently ranked second in the PAC in ERA (4.55), first in shutouts, first in strikeouts and second in opposing batting average.
 
Bedilion, Burgdolt, Bell and Burner all recorded a pair of hits, as seven Jackets collected at least one knock in a balanced offensive effort. Burgdolt and Burner both scored twice in the late contest.
 
Bedilion got the start on the mound and suffered the loss after allowing six runs, four of which were earned, on five hits and five walks over 6.1 innings. Engelmore gave up a pair of scores over 1.2 innings of relief.
 
Waynesburg is back in action on Tuesday, when it hosts Thiel for senior day. First pitch of the PAC doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.