NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Waynesburg University captured its second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Softball Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon with a 6-3 victory over Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa.

The Yellow Jackets (29-8) scored two first-inning runs in the final game to take an early lead against the Titans (29-13), added to it with a single run in the fifth and three more in the seventh and held off a Westminster rally in the final inning to win their third conference championship in program history.

Westminster reached the championship game after posting a 5-0 victory over Geneva College in Game G, thanks to a first-inning grand slam and a four-hit shutout by graduate student Madison Brown (Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool).

As the winner of this year’s championship tournament title, Waynesburg secures the league's automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Softball Championship, with teams and regional site selections announced on Monday, May 15. Regional round play is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 and the Super Regionals will be played Friday-Saturday, May 26-27. The eight teams advancing from the Super Regionals will participate in the Division III Championship finals, slated for Thursday-Wednesday, June 1-7 at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas.
 

2023 PAC Softball Championship Tournament Hosted by Westminster College - New Wilmington, Pa. Note: Times may be adjusted based on weather
Thursday, May 4 (at Geneva; games rescheduled from May 3)
3 p.m.	Game A: No. 6 Saint Vincent 7, No. 5 Grove City 3 - Box Score
5 p.m.	Game B: No. 4 Geneva 5, No. 6 Saint Vincent 3 - Box Score
Friday, May 5 (at Westminster)
10 a.m.	Game C: No. 2 Waynesburg 1, No. 3 Allegheny 0 - Box Score
12 p.m.	Game D: No. 1 Westminster 3, No. 4 Geneva 2 - Box Score
2 p.m.	Game E: No. 4 Geneva 3, No. 3 Allegheny 1 (13 inn.) - Box Score
4 p.m.	Game F: No. 2 Waynesburg 9, No. 1 Westminster 2 - Box Score
Saturday, May 6 (at Westminster)
11 a.m.	Game G: No. 1 Westminster 5, No. 4 Geneva 0 - Box Score
1 p.m.	Game H: No. 2 Waynesburg 6, No. 1 Westminster 3 - Box Score

 

Saturday, May 6

PAC Championship Tournament [Game H] No. 2 Waynesburg 6, No. 1 Westminster 3

Waynesburg plated two runs in the first inning and used a flurry of runs in the seventh to take control and go on to a 6-3 win over Westminster ... It gave the Yellow Jackets a second straight title and a six-game winning streak through the last two PAC Tournaments ... Waynesburg used a similar recipe Saturday as they used in Friday's 9-2 win over the Titans, starting with two first-inning runs ... With two outs, senior Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa./McGuffey) singled and came home when junior Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. /Charters-Houston) followed with an RBI double ... Brookman wasn’t on base long, as junior Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) brought her home with a run-scoring single and a 2-0 Waynesburg lead ... The score remained 2-0 until the top of the fifth, when sophomore Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) belted a solo home run to stretch the Orange and Black’s lead to 3-0 ... Westminster cut the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when senior Alexis Yates (Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette) drilled a two-out RBI double to center that scored sophomore Danielle Teasdale (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley), who was pinch running for graduate student Madison Brown (Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool) after she led off the inning with a single ... Similar to Friday's win, Waynesburg tacked on three runs in the seventh inning to make it a comfortable margin ... Singles by junior Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) and Higgins helped put runners on the corners and Brookman followed with an RBI single that plated Gratton and then Senay stroked a two-run double that put the Jackets ahead 6-1 ... Westminster mounted one more rally in the bottom of the seventh that would get the tying run to the plate ... The first Titan run in the inning came when Yates singled in senior Emma Gurley (Painesville, Ohio/Gilmore Academy) and freshman Elliana Hseih (York, Pa./Central York), who doubled, later scored on an RBI single from senior Mackenzie Latess (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) to make it 6-3 ... The Titans would get two runners on and have the tying run at the plate, but Waynesburg sophomore Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle) got the final out of the Tournament with a strikeout and the Jackets had completed the repeat ... Wilson was named the Most Oustanding Player of the Tournament for the second straight year after throwing a complete game in the final, as she allowed three runs, two earned, on 11 hits with six Ks ... With the bats, Gratton went 3-for-3 to pace the Jackets’ 11-hit showing, while Higgins, Brookman and Senay recorded two hits in the victory ... Hunter, Brookman and freshman pitcher Autumn Stemple (Morgantown, W.Va./University) joined Wilson on the All-Tournament team, as Waynesburg is the first team since 2012 to have two different pitchers record complete-game wins and be named to the all-tournament team ... For Westminster, Yates had three hits and drove in two and Latess had a pair of hits as well ... The Titans' All-Tournament Team representatives were Brown, Latess and junior Elizabeth Malczak (Grove City, Pa./Grove City).

 

Saturday, May 6

PAC Championship Tournament [Game G] No. 1 Westminster 5, No. 4 Geneva 0

Westminster seized control of Saturday's opening game with a grand slam in their first at-bat of the game and didn't look back in taking a 5-0 victory over Geneva ... Senior Alexis Yates (Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette) led off with a single, followed by singles from senior Brooke Atkins (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) and senior Ashley Wire (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) to load the bases ... Following a foul out, junior Elizabeth Malczak (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) launched a one-out grand slam, her second home run of the season, and the Titans were out to a quick 4-0 lead ... The other Westminster run came in the fifth when Yates singled and later scored on an error ... That was more than enough for Titan graduate student Madison Brown (Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool) in the circle ... She threw a four-hit shutout, her sixth of the season, wbhile striking out three to send Westminster into the championship game ... Yates, Atkins and Wire had two hits each from the top three spots in the line-up, with Yates scoring a pair of runs ... For Geneva, senior Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) had a pair of hits and senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Col./Mountain Vista) had a single and stolen base as well ... Senior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) was the Golden Tornado starter and allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits while striking out one ... Johnson and Smith were named to the All-Tournament Team after the final game.

 

Friday, May 5

PAC Championship Tournament [Game F] No. 2 Waynesburg 9, No. 1 Westminster 2

Waynesburg grabbed the lead over Westminster with two first-inning runs and pulled away late with six runs in the final two frames for a 9-2 win to advance to the PAC Championship game for the second consecutive year ... Yellow Jacket senior Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa./McGuffey) drove in the initial run in the first with a sacrifice fly and junior Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa./Chartiers-Houston) followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0 ... The Titans moved back within a run in the fourth inning on an RBI double by senior Emma Gurley (Painesville, Ohio/Gilmore Academy), but another RBI double by Brookman, this one in the fifth inning, made it a 3-1 Waynesburg lead ... That's when the Jackets put the game away, striking for three runs in the sixth and adding three more in the seventh to claim the 9-2 triumph and run their PAC Tournament winning streak to five games dating back to last season ... Waynesburg pounded out 18 hits in the victory, led by freshman Bella DeMark (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin), who was 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and Brookman, who had three hits and drove in three ... Sophomore Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) added two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, while junior Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) and junior Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) had two hits each ... Sophomore pitcher Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle), who also had two singles at the plate, threw a complete game in the circle, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out a pair ... For Westminster, senior Mackenzie Latess (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, her eighth of the year and 20th of her career to tie Jennifer Emery (2007-10) for the program's all-time home run record.

 

Friday, May 5

PAC Championship Tournament [Game E] No. 4 Geneva 3, No. 3 Allegheny 1 (13 inn.)

After they both threw complete games earlier in the day, Geneva senior Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) and Allegheny sophomore Aleya Belardinelli (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) locked up in a pitcher's dual that carried through 13 innings before the Golden Tornadoes finally emerged with a 3-1 victory ... The game went 11 scoreless innings, although both teams had chances and just couldn't get a key hit, as Geneva stranded 11 through the first 11 frames and the Gators left 10 on base ... Both teams finally dented the scoreboard in the 12th, both due to errors ... For Geneva, senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Col./Mountain Vista) reached on an error, stole second, went to third on another error and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Madison Forsythe (Trafford, Pa./Penn-Trafford) for a 1-0 lead ... In the bottom of the 12th, Allegheny sophomore Halle Book (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) reached on a one-out error and raced all the way to third on the play before scoring on a sacrifice fly by junior Cameron Long (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) to even the game at 1-1 ... In the 13th, Geneva plated a pair on RBI singles by sophomore Megan Gray (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and graduate student Madison Smith (Joshue Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) to take a 3-1 lead ... The Gators mounted one more rally, loading the bases with no outs, but Haley Smith pitched her way out of trouble again, striking out two and getting the final out on a ground ball to second to keep the Golden Tornadoes in the Tournament ... Both pitchers went the distance, with Smith allowing eight hits and one run while striking out 11 and walking three and Belardinelli gave up 12 hits and three runs, two earned, with eight Ks and one walk ... Belardinelli also had two hits for Allegheny, as did freshman Samantha Phillips (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) ... Junior Elishea Reed (Lanse, Pa./West Branch) led Geneva with three hits, including a double, while Johnson had two hits and stole three bases.

 

Friday, May 5

PAC Championship Tournament [Game D] No. 1 Westminster 3, No. 4 Geneva 2

The Titans scored a pair of runs in the first inning, added another in the third inning and held on to edge Geneva, 3-2 ... The first Westminster runs came on an RBI single by senior Ashley Wire (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) and a second run scored on a throwing error on the play ...  Geneva slashed the deficit in half in the second inning thanks to error as well, which allowed freshman Lexi Zanic (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) to cross home to make it 2-1 ... The Titans put the margin back to two runs in the third inning when Wire hit a leadoff double and senior Mackenzie Latess (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) ripped an RBI double for a 3-1 lead ... Geneva would get a run back in the sixth on an RBI single by junior Elishea Reed (Lanse, Pa./West Branch) and then loaded the bases with no outs, but Westminster graduate student Madison Brown (Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool) pitched out of it, sandwiching two fly outs around a K to protect the 3-2 lead ... Geneva threatened again in the seventh, putting runners on first and second with one out, but Brown escaped again with a fly out and force out to end the game ... Brown allowed two runs, one earned, on eight hits with two Ks in the complete-game win, while Geneva senior starter Haley Smith (Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley) allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out a pair ... At the plate, Wire and senior Alexis Yates (Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette) had two hits for the Titans, while senior Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Col./Mountain Vista) and junior Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) had two hits apiece for Geneva.

 

Friday, May 5

PAC Championship Tournament [Game C] No. 2 Waynesburg 1, No. 3 Allegheny 0

Waynesburg freshman Autumn Stemple (Morgantown, W.Va./University) was masterful in throwing a no-hitter in the 1-0 Yellow Jacket victory ... It was the first no-no in the PAC Tournament since another Yellow Jacket, Sarah Langsdorf, held Washington & Jefferson hitless in a 2-0 victory in the 2003 PAC Tournament ... Stemple struck out eight and walked three in the game, including a batter with one out in the seventh, but she closed the game with a strikeout and a pop out ... Meanwhile, Allegheny sophomore pitcher Aleya Belardinelli (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) was nearly equal to Stemple, as she didn't allow a Yellow Jacket hit through the first five innings ... With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Waynesburg freshman Bella DeMark (Carnegie, Pa./Bishop Canevin) had the first hit, a single, and moved up an extra base due to an error ... Following a foul out, senior Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa./McGuffey) hit a two-out RBI single to center to put the Jackets ahead and they would close it out in the 7th ... Belardinelli suffered the tough-luck loss, allowing one unearned run on two hits while striking out five and walking two.