HIRAM, Ohio (April 19) – The Waynesburg University softball team traveled to Hiram on Sunday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader against the Terriers in a battle of teams with playoff aspirations. The Yellow Jackets rallied late to take down the host squad 5-3, but fell 11-3 (6 innings) in the late contest.
 
Waynesburg (24-10, 12-6) opened the day's scoring in the top of the first inning, when sophomore Meysa Heitmann (Morgantown, W.Va. / University) legged out an infield single that brought junior Jamie Kelly (Front Royal, Va. / Skyline) in to score and put the visitors up 1-0. The Jackets maintained that advantage until the top of the fourth, when Hiram (11-16, 10-7) tied the score at 1-1.
 
The visitors regained the lead in the fifth thanks to a perfectly played squeeze bunt by junior Brynn Charnesky (Scottdale, Pa. / Southmoreland) that allowed senior Kassidy Trimble (Parkersburg, W.Va. / Parkersburg South) to score and put Waynesburg back ahead 2-1. The Terriers took their first lead of the day with two runs in the fifth, but Waynesburg was about to put the game away in the next half-inning.
 
After the first Waynesburg batter was retire, Kelly drew a one-out walk. Senior Braylee Corbin (Petersburg, W.Va. / Petersburg) drilled brought her home during the ensuing at-bat with a triple that tied the score at 3-3. A Heitmann walk put runners on the corners for freshman Lorryn Sepe (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Penn-Trafford), who showcased her nerve and skill by lifting a go-ahead sacrifice fly that plated Corbin and made the score 4-3.
 
Sophomore Tori Foust (Blairsville, Pa. / River Valley) singled to keep the inning alive and bring Trimble to the dish. The veteran outfielder drove a single into left field that score Heitmann and provided an important insurance run.
 
Hiram managed a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, but freshman pitcher Morgan Walt (Hunker, Pa. / Hempfield) and her defense retired the next three batters to close out the victory.
 
Six different Jackets tallied at least one hit each, including Corbin, who went 2-for-4 with a triple and a single. Heitmann reached base three times on a base knock and two walks.
 
Walt stayed undefeated in the circle (7-0) after scattering six singles and two walks over seven innings. She allowed just one earned run and recorded three strikeouts for her most recent victory. Her most recent victory dropper her ERA to 2.01.
 
Hiram got on the board in the bottom of the first of game two to take a 1-0 edge, but that lead was short-lived, as the Yellow Jackets answered the challenge with a tally in the top of the second. Senior Bella DeMark (Carnegie, Pa. / Bishop Canevin) connected on the game-tying single that allowed Heitmann to score and make the score 1-1.
 
Unfortunately, the game turned in the third and fourth frames, where Hiram scored a combined nine runs to go ahead 10-1.
 
Waynesburg started to rally in the fifth after Charnesky led off with a single and scored two batters later on a Kelly triple. Corbin followed in the next at-bat with an RBI single of her own to make the score 10-3. Unfortunately, a double play ended the comeback, before the Terriers closed things out in the sixth.
 
Heitmann continued her outstanding second collegiate season with a 2-for-3 showing at the dish.
 
Three different Jacket pitchers, including freshman starter Emily Pratt (Bedford, Pa. / Bedford), took the circle in the late contest.
 
After the split, Waynesburg held a 1.5-game lead over Hiram for the number-four spot in the PAC standings, and is just a game behind Bethany for the third spot with four conference games left to played on the Jacket schedule.
 
Waynesburg plays its final home regular season games on Tuesday, April 21, when Saint Vincent comes to town for a PAC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.