LATROBE, Pa. (April 24) – The Waynesburg University softball team lost a pair of tight ballgames in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader at Saint Vincent on Thursday afternoon.
The Bearcats (21-15, 9-9 PAC) walked off game with as Josey Michalski's two-out double delivered Saint Vincent to a 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh. Saint Vincent secured scored three late runs in game two to secure a 4-2 win.
Six of Saint Vincent's seven runs in the doubleheader were scored with two outs.
The Yellow Jackets fell to 22-14 and 8-9 in PAC play. Waynesburg and Saint Vincent are among four teams within a half game of one another from fifth-through-eighth in the conference standings. The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the PAC Tournament.
Game 1 – Saint Vincent 3, Waynesburg 2
Waynesburg led 2-0 after four innings but the Bearcats scored runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, all with two outs, to secure the walk-off win.
The Jackets stranded a runner in each of the first three innings before breaking through with two in the fourth.
Kaitlyn Jagielski (Imperial, Pa. / West Allegheny) lifted a sacrifice fly and another run came in on an error to give Waynesburg a 2-0 edge.
Saint Vincent got on the scoreboard with a two-out single to plate a runner from second in the fifth. The hosts tied the game in the sixth with a go-ahead run getting thrown out at the plate by center fielder
Meysa Heitmann (Morgantown, W.Va. / University). In the seventh, a single and walk put runners on first and second with two out before Michalski's double to right-center to hand the Bearcats a 3-2 victory.
Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va. / Clay-Battelle) suffered just her fourth loss of the season on the walk-off. She struck out 12 for her fifth double-digit strikeout effort of the year. Saint Vincent managed three earned runs on seven hits with two walks against the Jacket southpaw.
Waynesburg scattered six hits in the ballgame.
Game 2 – Saint Vincent 4, Waynesburg 2
With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Saint Vincent notched back-to-back two-out RBI singles to take a 4-2 lead.
Waynesburg brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh after consecutive two-out singles but could not extend the ballgame.
Michalski scored the first run of the game two in the bottom of the third after notching a leadoff triple. The Bearcat lead remained until the top of the fifth.
Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) gave Waynesburg a 2-1 edge with a two-run single that plated
Camdyn Kowalczyk (Apollo, Pa. / Apollo-Ridge) and
Mackenzie Kearns (Elizabeth, Pa. / Elizabeth Forward). The Jackets had runners on second and third with two outs but were not able to add on to their lead.
Saint Vincent tied the game at two in the home half of the fifth with a two-out RBI triple.
Madison Baker (Kittanning, Pa. / Armstrong) escaped the inning without giving up the go-ahead run with a ground out back to the pitcher's circle.
Baker collected two outs in the sixth but walked a pair of batters, both of whom came home on the Bearcats' back-to-back RBI singles to take the lead.
Both teams worked out of trouble early as each squad stranded runners at first and third in the first inning. Saint Vincent left the bases loaded in the third after going ahead 1-0.
The Bearcats had a 9-7 edge in the hits column and had four extra-base hits.
Higgins had three hits in the game and both of Waynesburg's runs batted in. Heitmann notched two hits and a stolen base.
Baker was tagged the loss after allowing four earned runs in 5.2 innings.
Waynesburg hosts Westminster and celebrates both Senior Day and Alumni Day on Saturday.
