NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (April 27) – The Waynesburg University softball team clinched the number-six seed in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament with a road split at conference rival Westminster College Saturday afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets (19-16, 10-10) took game one 3-2 as
Emma Bliss (Uniontown, Pa. / Laurel Highlands) clubbed the game-winning home run in the ninth inning. The Titans (22-10, 15-5) posted a come-from-behind 5-4 win in game two on a walk-off single.
With the split and Bethany's game two win over Washington & Jefferson, the Yellow Jackets clinched a PAC Tournament birth for the third consecutive season. By winning game two, Westminster will host the tournament for the third straight year.
Waynesburg will take on number-three seed Geneva College next Thursday at noon.
Game 1 (Nine Innings) – Waynesburg 3, Westminster 2
It was a pitcher's duel in game one as southpaws
Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va. / Clay-Battelle) and Maddy Brown each tossed seven scoreless innings and the game went to extras tied at 0.
The Waynesburg bats got going in the eight as
Bella DeMark (Carnegie, PA. / Bishop Canevin) lined a hard-hit single under the first baseman's glove into right field.
Mackenzie Kearns (Elizabeth, Pa. / Elizabeth Forward) pinch ran for Demark and promptly stole second to put a runner in scoring position.
With two outs in the frame,
Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) ripped a run-scoring double into right center to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Trinity Edge (Franklin, Pa. / Franklin) followed with an RBI single to left center, making it 2-0.
Edge finished 3-for-4 with an RBI while Brookman was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Westminster responded in the bottom of the eight with a two-out, 2-run single to send the game to the ninth.
Leading off the ninth, Bliss came to the plate and clubbed a solo homer over the right-field wall, her first of the year, to give the Orange and Black a 3-2 edge.
Wilson closed out her team-leading 13th complete game of the season in the bottom half as she fired a 1-2-3 inning to move to 10-5 on the year. She allowed just five hits and 2 runs while striking out four and walking two.
Game 2 – Waynesburg 4, Westminster 5
Westminster got on the board with a run-scoring single in the first to go ahead 1-0.
Waynesburg responded in the second as
Breanna Rice (Morgantown, W.Va. / Morgantown) and Bliss both poked infield singles with one out.
Alyssa Rager (Washington, Pa. / Trinity) knocked an RBI single just over the second baseman's glove into right field to tie the game at 1.
The Jackets added 2 more in the third as Edge tripled home Brookman and later scored on a
Kassidy Trimble (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South) sacrifice fly down the right-field line to make it 3-1.
Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) grew the lead to 4-1 with a two-out RBI single in the fourth.
Wilson got the ball again in game two and rolled through the first five innings, allowing just two hits in the first inning.
The Titans got the bats going in the sixth as they made it 4-2 on a bases loaded walk. After Wilson notched a backwards K for the second out, the home side tied things up with a two-RBI single, knocking the junior southpaw out after 5.2 innings. Edge recorded the final out of the sixth.
After Waynesburg was retired in order in the seventh, the Titans knocked a leadoff single in the bottom half and advanced the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk, Edge forced a weak grounder that moved the runners to second and third with two outs. Ava Karpa was jammed on an inside heater but was able to get just enough on it to get past Bliss and Higgins to seal the 5-4 win for Westminster.
Edge fell to 2-5 on the year with the loss. She went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI at the plate.
Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway), Rice and Higgins all posted two-hit efforts.
The Jackets will take on Geneva Thursday at noon in the PAC Tournament.
