Baseball season is officially here with the snow finally melting and the temperatures finally reaching the 50-plus degree mark. The Waynesburg Yellow Jacket baseball team certainly enjoyed the warmer weather picking up a sweep in their opening double header versus the La Roche Redhawks.

The game was moved from Waynesburg to Mylan Park in Morgantown, but the move did not affect the Yellow Jackets as they picked up a 5-4 win in the first game and a 5-3 win in the second leg of the doubleheader. Both games were just 7-inning games since it was an out of conference matchup.

“Biggest takeaway from last year: consistency and details to win,” head coach Michael Impellittiere said. “It showed us what we needed to raise our standard day-to-day, and our guys have responded ‘Team First’.”

La Roche scored the day’s first run in the top of the first after a groundout, but Waynesburg quickly responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning with a sac fly and then a single by junior first baseman Trent Girafa.

The Yellow Jackets added two more runs in the bottom of the second with freshman outfielder Eli Boring smacked a two run double. Boring was one of two freshmen who made the opening day lineup for the Yellow Jackets, with third baseman Mason Leonard also debuting for Waynesburg.

“They’re competitive, coachable, and they show up ready to work,” Impellittiere said. “Eli and Mason have been steady and confident—nothing’s been too big for them, and they’ve earned their spots with consistent reps.”

Boring went 2 for 4 , but reached base three times in the game, slashing a double and collecting three RBI in the 5-4 win.

“In game one, I was really seeing the ball well. I tried to stay short to the ball and not chase anything outside the zone. Once I got that first good swing off, everything slowed down for me,” Boring said. “I felt comfortable in the box, trusted my approach, and just focused on hitting the ball hard somewhere. The results came from staying disciplined and not trying to do too much.”

Graduate student Gavin Pratt started the game and picked up the win moving to 1-0 on the season. Pratt went four-innings and allowed just one hit and struck out four in the win. He also served as the designated hitter (DH) and collected one RBI.

The Red Hawks started the second game off hot, collecting three straight hits including a two-run double by junior DH Samuel DiCicco. LaRoche added one more run in the top of the second  to make it 3-0 after an RBI-triple by senior outfielder D.J Loveland.

That was the last run that LaRoche scored in the game.

Waynesburg cut the lead to one in the bottom half of the second after two RBI singles, one by senior outfielder Hunter Hamilton, the other by sophomore shortstop Kaden Flambard. Waynesburg added two more runs in the fourth and won in the sixth to complete the sweep of LaRoche with a 5-3 win.

Junior catcher Hunter Mamie went 2 for 3 in the game and caught both games of the double header. Mamie started in nine games his sophomore year.

“The offseason process for me was to have consistent bat to ball skills especially after how Aiden Williams hit last year,” Mamie said. “So, it was going in mostly every day, getting in work off the machine.”

Williams graduated following the 2025 season and had the best batting average on the team with a .337.

Senior starting pitcher Ethan Erhard picked up his first win of the season. Erhard pitched five-innings, allowed three earned runs and struck out four Red Hawks. Erhard led the Yellow Jackets in games started with nine and innings pitched with 43 innings pitched in the 2025 season.

“I want to give credit to our pitchers because they are working very hard to compete this year from running, throwing pens, you name it,” Mamie said. “Having them work on their pitches to where they can trust throwing it in game. What stood out to me the most was they stayed under control even when maybe a call didn’t go their way.”

The Yellow Jackets will be back in action this Saturday at home where they face Elmira College in a double header. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.