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Sweep slips away

By Kyle Dawson editorial Assistant 7 min read
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The baseball team split a doubleheader against the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, winning 10-0 in game one and falling 8-7 on a Geneva last-inning comeback in game two.

Sophomore pitcher Luke Carter got the nod in the first game for the Jackets and continued his success in the 2015 campaign. The Waynesburg bats also showed up in the day’s opening contest, collecting seven hits and taking advantage of several walks issued by Golden Tornado pitching.

”We were able to take advantage of some mistakes by Geneva’s pitchers,” said head coach Mike Humiston. “Unfortunately, we know all too well what happens when you walk guys. We had some timely hitting and were able to score a number of runs.”

Humiston was extremely happy with his sophomore’s effort.

”Luke’s strike-to-ball ratio was better,” said Humiston. “He was able to get out of some tough situations and make pitches when he needed to. He pitched very effectively. It helps that we played defense and hit for him too. It is much easier to pitch with a big lead.”

Carter credited hitting and defense as contributing factors to his success in his second win of the season, citing the early lead as a key.

”When I pitch with the lead my mentality changes a bit,” said Carter. “I do not feel the need to pick the corners as much. I just try and throw strikes and if they hit them so be it. I will let my defense make plays.”

In the win, Carter tossed a complete game, registering seven innings pitched, surrendering two hits, two walks and six strikeouts. 

”We were able to get the momentum early and make plays defensively,” said Carter. “Ben Shorthouse and Justin McPhail both made pretty good plays in the outfield among others.” 

Offensively, a couple of hitters paved the way for the Jackets with successful games at the plate.

Junior catcher Tyler Rubasky was 2-2 with a run scored, an RBI, a walk and two hit by pitches.

Sophomore first baseman Jonathan Kletzli collected three hits in game one, scoring a run and driving in three runs. The reigning All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference first-teamer totaled five runs batted in on four hits.

The damage was done in the third inning when the Jackets scored nine runs.

Game two started off with more success as the Jackets looked for the season and series sweep of Geneva. 

Waynesburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a Kletzli single that scored sophomore Nathan Mori and senior Neal Yakopin. 

Geneva scored its first run of the series off sophomore pitcher Jacob Meyer in the bottom half of the frame to make the score 2-1 after the first.

The Jackets scored four runs in the third inning, but left a few runners on base. Geneva would answer by grabbing its second run in the bottom half of the third. Waynesburg plated its seventh run in the sixth inning to make it 7-2, putting them in prime position for the win and Meyer in prime position to record his first collegiate win. 

Meyer took the hill in the seventh. He surrendered a single to the first batter and was lifted by Humiston. 

”Jacob pitched very well,” said Humiston. “He got out of a number of jams and only gave up three runs, and we had seven when we pulled him. That’s when the wheels fell off.”

Junior Tyler Prevost came in for Meyer and surrendered three straight hits, yielding three runs without recording an out. Then, sophomore Colton Lippencott came in and ended up getting the loss on a three-run walk-off homerun by Geneva’s designated hitter Anthony Monteparte. 

”I talked to Tyler [Prevost] after the game and he said he was hitting his spots, they were just hitting him,” said Humiston. “They were not hitting him hard, but the hits found holes. With Colton [Lippencott], they hit him hard. Our entire pitching staff has to get better if we expect to make a run.”

Humiston also felt for Meyer, whom he said pitched well enough to win, but his team did not help him get his first win at Waynesburg.

”Jacob has been snake-bit 16 times,” said Humiston. “In 16 appearances here, he still hasn’t pitched in a win and that’s terrible. He’s pitched well enough to earn a couple, but his teammates have not helped him.” 

Meyer said he didn’t pitch as effectively as he would have liked, but he thinks he battled well in the no decision.

”Well, it’s a team game,” said Meyer. “I can not lie when I say it stinks, but it’s all about the process, not the product. That’s the last thing on my mind, and the rest of my teammates’ minds when we are pitching. As a team, if we continue to focus on the process and not the product, we will look back on the season and be happy with what we see.”

Six Jackets collected an RBI in the loss, led by Kletzli with the two runs batted in. The other five to knock in tallies were seniors Ben Shorthouse and Eric Crum, juniors Matt Bensinger and Brent Williams and sophomore Cam Bernhardt. 

The Jackets will continue on this long Presidents’ Athletic Conference swing in a three-game series against the Thiel Tomcats, who have hit the ball very well this season and have had early success in PAC play. 

”Thiel can hit the baseball and they have some good pitching,” said Humiston. “There is a lot of parody in our conference this year. We cannot take anyone lightly. This will be a challenge for us and hopefully we respond well after the game-two loss Monday.”

A home, nine-inning contest is scheduled for today, with the doubleheader in Greenville, Pennsylvania scheduled for Saturday.

First pitch for game on Saturday is slated for 1 p.m.   Coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. and can be heard on greenesports.net. 

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