Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (April 30) – The Waynesburg University baseball team locked horns with Thomas More in a wild, offense-filled doubleheader on Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets’ 27 combined runs over two games weren’t enough to produce a win, as the home-team Saints took game one by the final score of 14-12, and followed that up with a 16-15 victory in game two. The losses dropped the Yellow Jackets to 14-19 on the season and 5-9 in Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) play. The Saints, who clinched a berth in the four-team PAC tournament with the wins, improved to 24-12 on the season and 11-3 in conference play.
The Jackets looked like they were well on their way to win in the opening game of the twin bill after they put up six runs in the top of the first inning, all with two outs on the board. After the first two Waynesburg batters were retired, a Thomas More error kept the Jackets alive. From there, the next six batters reached on four hits and two errors. During the offensive outburst, junior first baseman Bill Hanning drove in a run with a single, sophomore catcher Brendan Scioscia plated two of his teammates with a single of his own and sophomore leftfielder Kenny Grant got the big hit of the opening frame when he cleared the bases with a three-run double.
Unfortunately, Thomas More enjoyed almost an identical half of the first by plating six runs of their own off Waynesburg starting pitcher Anthony Longo. Both teams sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning.
The score remained tied at 6-6 after a scoreless second inning and Thomas More took their first lead in the bottom of the third. However, Waynesburg tied the game back up (7-7) in the top of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single by sophomore third baseman Corey Goeggelman.
The Saints proceeded to rebound with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and a run in the bottom of the fifth to build up a 13-7 advantage. The bats stayed hot as each team tallied a run in the sixth to make the score 14-8 going into the seventh.
In the final frame of the opener, Waynesburg put together a spirited effort to try and either tie the game up or grab a late lead. After the first two Waynesburg hitters struck out, Scioscia singled and sophomore right fielder Nick Berdine followed with a walk. Grant came up with another big hit as a single brought both base-runners home after they advanced during the leftfielder’s at-bat.
With one on and two out, senior second baseman Wes White Jr teed off on his team-leading third homerun of the season to cut the lead to 14-12.
Unfortunately, Thomas More went to their bullpen and got the final out of the contest.
Longo got roughed up while taking the loss. He gave up 13 runs, 12 of which were earned, on 13 hits and a walk. He struck out two Saints batters. Senior Ryan Schell tossed the final two innings and allowed one run on a hit and two walks.
For Waynesburg, game two started in a similar fashion to the opener. After both teams put up zeroes in the first inning, the Yellow Jackets jumped on another Thomas More starting pitcher to the tune of four runs in the top of the second. Grant, White and senior designated hitter Bryan Leones all collected RBIs during the big frame.
Once again, however, the Saints were ready as they responded with six runs of their own in the bottom of the second to take a 6-4 lead. The offensive fireworks were far from over as the Jackets put up a six-spot of their own to take a 10-6 advantage in the top of the third. Scioscia added another RBI to his day on a single, while sophomore right fielder Chris Dittmar picked up a pair of runs driven in, with a single of his own. Grant drilled his first collegiate homerun, a three-run shot, to put the exclamation point on yet another offensively-charged inning.
After a pair of Saints came across home plate to cut the Jackets’ edge to just two (10-8), Waynesburg responded, yet again, with another big inning. Dittmar and Grant singled in a run each during a three-run fourth inning that put the visiting team up by five (13-8). Unbelievably, Thomas More was able to answer with another productive frame of its own. Thanks to a five-run bottom of the fourth, the home team was able to tie the game up at 13-13.
The momentum swung back into Waynesburg’s favor in the top of fifth when junior center fielder Rob Cool Jr cracked a solo homerun, his third long ball of the season, to give his team the lead back at 14-13. But, the Saints had one more big inning left in them as three runs came across to score in the bottom of the fifth, which gave the home team a 16-14 edge.
The Jackets refused to give in and another Grant RBI, this one coming in the top of the sixth, made it 16-15 Thomas More. After finally shutting down the Saints’ offense in the bottom of the sixth, the Jackets got a leadoff double from Cool in the top of the seventh, but they couldn’t advance him home and Thomas More pulled out another hard-fought win.
Junior Pat Ehrin took the loss in game two after giving up three earned runs on one hit, a walk and two hit batsmen during two-thirds of an inning of relief. He replaced junior Jesse Gonzalez, who started and gave up 13 runs, all earned, on 14 hits and two walks over four innings of work.
Not surprisingly, there were some truly eye-popping numbers in the sweep, and no one had a bigger day than Grant. He went five-for-eight at the dish with an unbelievable 11 runs driven in. He also scored twice and boasted a 1.125 slugging percentage. When the dust finally settled, Waynesburg had collected 29 hits in the two losses. Six Jackets picked up at least three hits each, and eight had multiple-hit afternoons. Scioscia and White scored four runs a piece and six Waynesburg batters scored at least three runs each.
The same two teams are scheduled to take the field tomorrow for a nine-inning PAC contest in Kentucky.