Softball Sweeps La Roche at Home
The Waynesburg University softball team started it’s Easter break off to a great start by sweeping La Roche at home on Thursday, April 13. The Yellow Jackets downed the Redhawks by the final scores of 8-4 and 9-2.
Going into the game head coach Richele Hall said the team felt they were in a good place.
“Coming into this game we felt like we are in a very good place and we should be fine going down the stretch of the season,” said Hall.
Waynesburg (9-16-1) got off to a bit of a slow start in game one, as La Roche (9-17) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. But, the Jackets responded to the challenge in a big way, notching four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Sophomore first baseman Alex Lawrence started the comeback with an RBI single, then an error brought home the tying run. A double steal allowed the go-ahead score to cross home plate, before freshman second baseman Ashley Dubovich singled home her team’s fourth run of the opener.
Sophomore Courtney Messenger pitched her team to victory. She allowed three runs, two of which were earned, on five hits and two walks over six innings. Messenger racked up seven strikeouts in her most recent victory, before turning the ball over to senior Lyndi Gareis. Gareis allowed a run in the final inning of play.
In the second game, La Roche scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to open up game two. The Jackets bounced back in the bottom of the frame with a three-spot of their own.
Lawrence extended her current hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single. A two-run error by the Redhawks allowed the inning’s final two runs to come home.
Another successful double steal extended Waynesburg’s lead to 4-2 in the second, before the Jackets blew the game wide open in the fourth. Freshmen Cheyenne Wasko, Skon and Dubovich all recorded RBI singles before senior Mackenzie Smith sealed up the victory with a two-run double that brought about the final score of 9-2.
Sophomore Cat Allstatt got the win in the circle after scattering 12 hits over a seven-inning, complete-game effort. She struck out five Redhawks and didn’t walk an opposing hitter.
Dubovich paced the Waynesburg offense by going 4-7 with a double, five RBI and a run scored. Smith added a 3-6 effort at the dish with a double and two RBI.
After playing Bethany on Friday, April 14, the softball team plays next against Westminster in a home doubleheader on Wednesday, April 19.