GROVE CITY, Pa. (April 18) – The Waynesburg University softball team traveled to Grove City to face the Wolverines in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader on Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets rode a big third inning to a 7-4 win, but eight walks played a major role in a 9-3 loss in game two.
Waynesburg (22-6, 11-3) got the day off to a strong start by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener. The Yellow Jackets manufactured the score after sophomore
Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan singled, stole second, moved to third on a fielder's choice and then sprinted home on a double steal with junior
Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston).
Grove City (16-12, 10-6) tied the score in the bottom of the first and things remained knotted at 1-1 until the third, when the Jacket bats exploded for five runs.
Higgins led off the frame with a double and proceeded to steal third. Senior
Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa. / McGuffey) reached base on an error and stole second shortly thereafter. Brookman logged her first RBI of the day on a groundout that plated Higgins and put her team back up 2-1. After a walk by freshman
Jasmine Demaske (Waynesburg, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) and yet another stolen base, junior
Emma Bliss (Uniontown, Pa. / Laurel Highlands) drew a base-on-balls to load the bases.
Junior
Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) connected on Waynesburg's biggest hit of the day with a bases-clearing double that put the Orange and Black up 5-1. Sophomore pitcher
Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va. / Clay-Battelle) helped out her own cause by connecting on an RBI double that brought pinch-runner
Emily Barker (Mount Sterling, Ohio / Fayette Christian) home to make the score 6-1.
The scoring slowed down over innings four and five, before the Jackets posted their final run of game in the top of the sixth. Hunter doubled to score junior
Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway). Grove City brought in the game's final run on a wile pitch and proceeded to put the tying run at the plate, but Wilson showed her moxie by striking out that potential run to close the game.
The reigning PAC Pitcher of the Year improved to 13-3 on the season after allowing four earned runs on eight hits and one walk over a seven-inning complete game. Wilson racked up six strikeouts in her latest triumph.
Waynesburg just edged Grove City in hits (9-8), but drew four walks and racked up seven stolen bases, which is tied for the most in a game by the Yellow Jackets since at least 2001 and the most in the PAC this season. Higgins had three of those swiped bags to go along with a three-for-four performance at the dish that included a double and two runs scored.
Senay added a two-for-four effort at the dish with a double and three RBIs.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets were their own worst enemy in game two, and a solid host squad took advantage for the victory.
The top of the first inning set the tone, as Waynesburg put runners on second and third with no outs, but was unable to bring a run across home plate. Grove City, meanwhile, took a 1-0 lead in its half of the frame.
Freshman pitcher
Autumn Stemple (Morgantown, W.Va. / University) kept the Wolverines at bay to keep her team's deficit at one over the next three innings. Waynesburg finally broke through to tie the game in the top of the fifth, when sophomore
Mackenzie Kearns (Elizabeth, Pa. / Elizabeth Forward) lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield that sent Gratton sprinting home with the tying run.
Grove City took over the game from that point on and scored eight runs over the next two innings to seal up the win. After the Wolverines scored three times in the fifth to go up 4-1, Demaske cut the deficit to 4-3 with her team-leading fourth homer of the season, which was a two-run bomb that also brought in Hunter.
However, control issues that led to eight Jacket walks finally overwhelmed the Orange and Black, as the Grove City closed things out with a five-run sixth.
Stemple suffered the loss in the circle and dropped to 8-3 in 2023. She allowed five runs, all earned, on eight hits and six walks, while striking out five. Brookman gave up the final four runs, three of which were earned, during an inning of relief work.
Five different Jackets logged a hit each in the loss, including Higgins, who also swiped her fourth bag of the day.
The loss dropped Waynesburg out of first place in the PAC, but the Jackets can take the top spot right back on Saturday, with another crucial road trip. Waynesburg travels to face Saint Vincent, the new league leaders, for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
