WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- Senior Matt Waugaman (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) pounded seven hits, including three triples and a pair of doubles, to lead the Grove City College baseball team to a Presidents' Athletic Conference split with Waynesburg on Thursday afternoon at the Waynesburg University Baseball Field. The Wolverines (16-17, 13-10 PAC) downed the Jackets (18-20, 12-11) 11-8 in the opener before falling 14-8 in the nightcap.

Five other Wolverines had multiple hits on the day, as senior shortstop David Laylock (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pine Richland) and freshman designated hitter Matt Dayton cracked four hits each and junior center fielder Tyler Graham (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) and sophomore left fielder Travis Auth (Medina, Ohio/Medina) added three hits apiece. Junior second baseman Cameron Smail (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) contributed a pair of hits in the game two setback.

In the opener, Grove City took advantage of two early Waynesburg errors to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. After two runners reached on errors, sophomore third baseman Micah Burke (Gilbert, Ariz./E.V.A.C.) brought sophomore infielder Bobby Dulay (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) home on a sacrifice fly, and Graham came home just a few pitches later on a wild pitch to make a it a 2-0 game. Later in the inning, Waugaman walked and stole second before coming home to score on an Auth RBI-double.

Grove City pushed the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth when Dayton singled and later came home to score on a Graham RBI-single. Waynesburg, however, cut the Wolverine lead in half in the bottom of the fourth by scoring a pair to cut the margin to 4-2.

That score would remain into the sixth inning, as Grove City plated four runs in the top of the sixth - keyed by a Waugaman two-run single - to extend their lead to 8-2. Once again, Waynesburg countered with four runs of their own on three home runs to cut the lead back to two at 8-6.

Grove City would make a final surge in the top of the seventh to add what would prove to be some much-needed insurance runs. Dulay drew a one-out walk and, after a second out, Burke smacked a triple that scored Dulay and turned into a little-league home run, as a Jacket error allowed Burke to advance from third to home and push Grove City's lead to 10-6. Waugaman followed with another triple - his second of the game and Grove City's third as a team before sophomore left fielder Shane Hammel (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) - who came in as a defensive replacement - singled to right center to score Waugaman and extend the lead to five runs.

Waynesburg would give it their best in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out, but freshman Austin Wacker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) entered the game in relief and, despite giving up a pair of runs, prevented further damage to help Grove City escape the jam and hold on for the 11-8 win.

Sophomore John Bini (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian) earned the win to improve to 6-1 on the season despite allowing seven runs on nine hits in six innings of Work. Wacker earned his third save of the year after allowing a single hit in the seventh.

In the nightcap, Grove City once again took an early lead, scoring five runs in the first two innings. Graham and Auth both singled to lead off the second game and Waugaman sent both home with his third triple of the day to put the Wolverines on top 2-0. Senior catcher Andy Fritz (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) followed one batter later with a sacrifice fly to extend Grove City's lead to 3-0. In the top of the third, Waugaman doubled and later came home to score on a Dayton RBI-double, and Dayton scored on a Laylock RBI-single to push the lead to 5-0.

However, Waynesburg answered with nine runs in the bottom of the third on eight hits, keyed by a Tyler Reis three-run home run, to take a 9-5 lead through three. Another Waynesburg run in the fourth and four more in the sixth would extend that lead to 14-5 before Grove City cut the margin to 14-8 with three runs in the top of the seventh. Smail, Dulay, and Waugaman each drove in single runs in the late comeback attempt.

Burke took the loss on the mound, allowing nine runs on seven hits in two-and-a-third innings. Senior Jimmy Palmer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and freshmen Henry Womble (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) and Corey Thomas (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) all saw action in relief.

Grove City has a single nine-inning game remaining with Waynesburg to close the regular season. That game is scheduled for tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. in Grove City, but it may get moved due to an inclement weather forecast. The winner of that game will clinch a berth in next weekend's four-team Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament while Grove City would still have a chance of earning a berth even with a loss.