Waynesburg University softball split a double header with Bethany College on Monday, April 15. The first game started at 3:30 p.m., but the scoring didn’t start until the fourth inning, when junior Breanna Rice hit a two-run home run, scoring Trinity Edge in the process. 

“It felt incredible. Especially with it being my first collegiate home run, I was beyond excited, and the team was even more excited for me which made the moment ten times more special,” Rice said. 

The lead for the Yellow Jackets didn’t last long, as Bethany struck for two runs in the top of the fifth, following a two-RBI single from Mary Marshal. The game was tied, 2-2, taking the game to extra innings.

In the eighth inning, Bethany took the lead on an RBI double by Haley Eyler. That proved to be the winning run, as Bethany edged Waynesburg in game one, 3-2.  

Sydney Wilson was tagged with her second loss of the season, after going eight innings with allowing eight hits, three runs (two earned), three walks, and recording three strikeouts. She is now 8-2 on the season. 

Game two began at 5:30 p.m. Scoring started earlier than game one, as Bethany’s Ally McClell recorded an RBI single in the top of the second inning. The top of the third brought two more runs for Bethany, with a pop up by Marshal that scored a run and an RBI double by Brooke Markl, giving the Bison a 3-0 lead going to the bottom of the third.  

Waynesburg scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the third, where Trinity Edge recorded an RBI single, putting runners on first and third. Sydney Waryanka scored on a wild pitch following the single, cutting Bethany’s lead to 3-2. 

In the fourth inning, Edge tallied another RBI with a single to third base, tying the game at three. Kaitlyn Jagielski got into the action with a 2-RBI double, giving Waynesburg its first lead of the game at 5-3. To wrap up the fourth inning and the scoring for Waynesburg, Kassidy Trimble recorded an RBI single for a 6-3 Waynesburg lead.  

In the top of the sixth inning, Eyler hit a two-run home run for Bethany, making it a 6-5 ball game, but Wilson came in and slammed the door on the Bison, for a 6-5 victory in game two.  

Autumn Stemple got her sixth win, after going six innings pitched and allowing six hits, five runs (three earned), and three walks. She is now 6-3 on the season.  

The win was highlighted by Waynesburg’s Grace Higgins’ three hit game. “The second game, I was seeing the ball better and I went in with more confidence than I did the first game,” Higgins said, “It is hard to not get in your own head when playing this sport, but I knew I had to step it up after losing the last game in order to try and win the next game.” 

The women host Grove City on Thursday for a double header beginning at 3:30 p.m. It is the Suicide Awareness game.