WAYNESBURG, Pa. (March 24) – The Waynesburg University baseball team hosted Franciscan on Tuesday afternoon for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader. The Yellow Jackets came back to defeat Franciscan 6-5 in game one, but couldn't hold an early lead in game two and fell 13-7 to the Barons.
 
Franciscan (1-9, 1-3) struck for two runs in the first inning, one in the second and two more in the third to build a 5-0 lead. After a scoreless fourth, Waynesburg (8-12, 1-3) began its comeback at the midway point of the contest.
 
The Jackets took advantage of some costly Franciscan miscues to score twice in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Hunter Mamie (Eighty Four, Pa. / Ringgold) trotted home to score his team's first run on a balk. During the ensuing at-bat of sophomore Kaden Flambard (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park), a wild pitch during a strikeout not only allowed Flambard to take first, but it also gave senior Noah Gabriel (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler) the greenlight to sprint home and make the score 5-2.
 
Waynesburg cut its deficit down to one in the bottom of the eight thanks to an RBI single by freshman Weston Winchester (Tuckasegee, N.C. / Smoky Mountain) and a passed ball that brought in freshman Jose Lopez, Jr. (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange).
 
Yet another Franciscan mishap allowed the Jackets to tie the score in the bottom of the ninth, as an error during the at-bat of senior Jordan Mosley (St. Albans, W.Va. / St. Albans) brought Gabriel home and knotted things up at 5-5.
 
Two batters later, Lopez got the chance to play hero and came through in the clutch with a walk-off, two-out RBI single that brought senior Hunter Hamilton (Holbrook, Pa. / West Greene) home from second base.
 
Senior Dalton Lucey (Waynesburg, Pa. / West Greene) earned the win on the mound after weaving together his best pitching performance of the season. The veteran righty gave up just two hits, didn't walk a batter and logged five strikeouts over six shutout innings of work.
 
Lopez and junior Trent Giraffa (Hanover, Pa. / Delone Catholic) led Waynesburg offensively with two hits each on the day.
 
Game two looked like it was going to a much less stressful affair as the home team scored three in the bottom of the third on a hit batsman, two walks and back-to-back singles. Freshman Mason Leonard (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) put his team on the board with a two-run knock that plated Giraffa and Mosley. Winchester followed with a run-scoring base knock that sent Lopez sprinting across home plate.
 
Unfortunately, the Franciscan bats exploded in the second inning for seven runs to give the Barons a lead they wouldn't relinquish on the day.
 
Waynesburg got one run back in bottom of the frame on an RBI groundout by Giraffa, but the visitors responded with a score of their own in the top of the third. Baron errors led to a pair of Jacket tallies in the third that cut the Orange and Black deficit to 8-6.
 
Once again, the Green and Gold answered Waynesburg's challenge, this time plating two runs in its half of the sixth. An RBI double by Leonard in the sixth kept the Jackets' comeback hopes alive with the score standing at 10-7.
 
The Barons ensured their victory with three runs in the seventh.
 
Eight different Waynesburg pitchers toed the rubber in game two. Freshman Josh Mosley (St. Albans, W.Va. / St. Albans) enjoyed the most success by posting two shutout innings during which he yielded just one base hit and no walks. The rookie right logged a pair of strikeouts.
 
Though it didn't lead to a win, Leonard enjoyed a productive showing at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and three RBIs in the late contest.
 
The Jackets are back in action on Saturday, March 28, when they travel to Washington for a PAC doubleheader against Washington & Jefferson. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.