WAYNESBURG, Pa. – Strong pitching coupled with timely hitting led the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team to a Presidents' Athletic Conference sweep over Waynesburg University Saturday in doubleheader action in Greene County. The Presidents downed the Yellow Jackets by a 6-2 score in game one before rolling to a 10-1 victory in game two.

W&J extends its winning streak to seven games. The Presidents improve to 14-4 overall and remain perfect in PAC play at 6-0. Waynesburg falls to 5-18 overall and 1-5 in league play. The Yellow Jackets have lost nine of 10 games overall.

Game One – W&J 6, Waynesburg 2

The Presidents racked up 14 hits and used some solid pitching to secure the game one victory. Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) and Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) led the offense with three hits apiece. Meier finished with a double and a triple. Luke Alvarez (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) and Teddy Platt (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) finished with multi-hit efforts. Alvarez homered as part of his day at the plate.  

Waynesburg picked up a run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead.

W&J broke through offensively the second time through the order. The Presidents scored twice in the third and added two more in the fourth to take the lead. Teddy Platt (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) led off the third with a bunt single before swiping second on a stolen base and moving to third on an errant through. Garth drove in Platt to even the score. Later in the frame, Meier laced an RBI double to plate Garth for a 2-1 lead.

An inning later, Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) led off with a double and scored a batter later on the Alvarez home run, which extended the lead to 4-1. The Yellow Jackets responded with a run in the fifth inning, as they took advantage of a leadoff runner on a catcher's interference to make it 4-2.

W&J tacked on an insurance run in the seventh and ninth innings. In the seventh, Garth led off with a single and eventually scored on a two-out RBI single by Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/Wellington School). Then in the ninth, the Presidents used a two-out triple by Meier and an RBI double by Nate Hess (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) to push its lead to 6-2.

Ethan Marszalek (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes) improved his record to 3-0 on the season. Marszalek tossed six strong innings in the outing. The senior right hander struck out a pair, walked one and scattered six hits.

Brendan Cruz (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) put together another impressive appearance out of the bullpen. Cruz retired all nine hitters he faced over the final three frames to secure his second save of the season.

Game Two – W&J 10, Waynesburg 1

After making an impact as a relief pitcher in game one, Cruz provided the biggest hit in a game two victory. Cruz launched a three-run go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. That hit pushed the Presidents into the lead for good before blowing it open in the later innings.

Platt finished with a game-best three hits including a pair of doubles. LaDuca and Cruz both went deep in the win.

Runs were hard to come by in the early stages of game two. The Yellow Jackets used back-to-back hits to set up shop in the bottom of the second inning. Waynesburg scored a run on a double play to take a 1-0 advantage.

The Presidents evened the score in the fifth inning. Cruz reached base via a hit by pitch to lead off the frame. LaDuca eventually drove in Cruz with a clutch two-out RBI single to knot the score up at 1-1.

W&J pushed in front with the three-run home by Cruz in the sixth. The clutch no-doubt long ball came with two outs. Both Meier and Zaas reached base after battling to draw walks in their respective plate appearances in the frame.

The Red and Black added more insurance runs in the final three innings. In the seventh inning, Garth produced an RBI triple to plate Platt to make it 5-1. Zaas tacked on an RBI double later in the frame. LaDuca then crushed a three-run home run over the left center field fence to swell the lead to 8-1 after eight innings.

W&J tacked on its final run in the ninth when Paddy Hernjak (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) singled and scored on an RBI groundout later in the frame.

Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) picked up the victory to move to 4-0 on the mound this season. The senior worked eight innings while striking out five and walking just one. DiMatteo allowed one run on five hits. Ben Pierce (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) retired the side in order in the ninth inning to finish off the win.

W&J is scheduled to head to Grove City on Wednesday (April 2). First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.