Earlier today, the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets softball team returned home from a trip to the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic by sweeping a doubleheader over Mount Aloysius College. Waynesburg earned an 8-1 victory in game one, and a 9-1 win in game two in just five innings of play. 

Today’s wins gave Waynesburg an 11-3 record on the season. The Yellow Jackets began the season 3-1 with a split against Penn State Altoona and a sweep of Carlow, before playing eight games in Myrtle Beach, in which they went 6-2 overall. 

“It’s a testament to this program and what they’ve built before me,” second-year head coach Chris Brunson said. “There’s a lot of kids that are used to winning and we continue to bring in student-athletes that represent and buy into the tradition.”

In game one, seniors Kassidy Trimble and Madie Cicero led the Waynesburg offense with two RBI each. The Yellow Jackets found themselves down 1-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, where they scored three runs and never looked back, ultimately scoring eight unanswered.

In game two, senior Braylee Corbin hit three home runs, setting a new Waynesburg single-game record. For more on the historic performance, click here. 

Brunson gave lots of credit to his pitching staff, which allowed just two runs today to bring the staff’s combined earned run average down to 2.96. In Myrtle Beach, the Yellow Jackets had one shutout and three other performances in which they allowed just three runs. 

“Our pitching is starting to come around,” Brunson said. “I work with the pitchers a lot, you have to pump them up mentally and get on the same page as them.”

In both games today, a Waynesburg pitcher went the distance. Senior Autumn Stemple threw all seven innings in game one, her first complete game of the season. 

“I’ve been dealing with some prior injuries, so it was refreshing to come back and throw a complete game,” Stemple said. 

Sophomore Pressly Meadows pitched all five innings in a run-rule shortened game two. 

In Myrtle, Stemple started two games, allowing three runs across four innings against Wilson College on March 2. She pitched three shutout innings against Wilkes College on March 5. Meadows started one game in Myrtle and appeared twice in relief.

“I think we have more confidence as a team,” Stemple said after today’s wins. “We have a little more leeway with giving me some extra innings moving forward.”

Today, Waynesburg had a balance of hitting, pitching and fielding. Brunson knows how much it means for all three phases to be clicking at the same time.

“Sometimes your pitching carries you when your bats are cold; sometimes your bats are hot and pitching is cold,” Brunson said. “Sometimes your defense is crazy good and sometimes it’s just ok. When it cycles through and you get all three facets of the game working in tandem, it can be special.”

The Yellow Jackets now wait until March 21 for the start of Presidents’ Athletic Conference play, when they take on the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents. First pitch in Washington is scheduled for 1 p.m.