Following a pair of postponements last weekend and a doubleheader with Point Park University this past Wednesday, the Waynesburg University softball team opens up its Presidents’ Athletic Conference schedule against Westminster this Saturday.

As the team transitions from its 16-game non-conference schedule to its 16-game PAC schedule, the lineup should be set in stone and the team will be ready to go according to senior first baseman Alex Lawrence.

“In non-conference play we are still learning the team and figuring out our starting nine,” Lawrence said. “When PAC play starts we buckle down. Both PAC play and non-conference are both serious and we want to sweep all.”

Likewise, Lawrence feels that the teams the Yellow Jackets saw leading up to PAC action have helped prepare them for the type of pitching they will also see in the conference.

“The non-conference helped us prepare for the pitching we are going to see in PAC, and we face good competition,” Lawrence said. “This week during Point Park [got] us ready for Westminster because [Point Park and Westminster] both have rise ball pitchers.”

Westminster is the top returning team in the PAC from the 2018 season, following the departure of the Thomas More Saints from the conference. The Titans completed 2018 with a second-place finish in the PAC Tournament, logging a 28-10 overall record and 16-2 record in PAC play.

After graduating eight seniors following last season, Westminster has not had the same success to start 2019, going 5-9 across its 14 games so far this season. Perhaps the biggest loss for the Titans was Jazmyn Rohrer, who was named PAC Player of the Year last year. On the mound she went 21-6 with a 0.88 ERA in 175.1 innings pitched to go along with 254 strikeouts. As a batter, she hit .318 with eight doubles and 22 RBIs.

The Titans do not have the same dominant pitching as last year but utilize a one-two punch from freshmen Krystyna Burdelski and Madison Brown who have split the innings nearly even so far, with Burdelski tossing 43.2 innings and Brown throwing 42 innings as of Tuesday. The team also boasts the number one hitter in the conference so far in terms of average in sophomore Haley Bedalota, who sports a .500 average in 12 starts this season.

As of March 26, before the team played Point Park, junior Ashley Dubovich paced the team in average at .441.

Lawrence leads the team and PAC in home runs with three so far and junior Courtney Syfert leads the team in RBIs with eight.

On the mound, sophomore Emma Kubalak has the most innings pitched with 56, while senior Courtney Messenger is leading the team in ERA (1.87) and strikeouts (12) in just 30 innings pitched.

Waynesburg, as a team holds a slight edge in team batting average over Westminster (.268 to .260), but the Titans have the upper hand in ERA (3.71 to 4.51).

Lawrence is confident in the team that surrounds her as the Yellow Jackets head into conference play this Saturday at 1 p.m. at home.

“Our expectations are high, we know that they’re a good team so we’re going to give our all in every inning,” Lawrence said. “Playing Point Park…definitely [gave] us confidence against rise ball pitchers because they also have one. It will take hard work, hustle and teamwork to start off on the right foot.”