WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team played to a split of a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader with visiting Waynesburg University Saturday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park.

The Yellow Jackets scored four runs over the first two innings as they earned a 5-3 win in game one. The game one win by Waynesburg snapped a 15-game winning streak for W&J in the head-to-head series. That streak dated back to April 1, 2017. The Presidents responded with an 8-5 victory in game two behind a pair of home runs. 

The split moves W&J to 10-2 in the PAC and 19-10 overall. Waynesburg is now 7-7 in the league and 11-19 overall. 

Game 1 - Waynesburg 5, W&J 3

The visiting Yellow Jackets scored twice in the first and added two more runs in the second inning en route to a game one victory. 

Marcos Mendez hit a two-run double in the first and Mike Bell produced a two-run single in the second to stake Yellow Jackets pitcher Dalton Lucey with an early lead. Lucey responded by tossing a complete game to pick up the victory.

After Waynesburg added a sac fly by Todd Burner to take a 5-0 lead in the sixth inning, W&J was finally able to get on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) led off with a single and later scored on a RBI double by Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/Wellington). 

W&J threatened in the bottom in the ninth. The Presidents opened the inning with a leadoff single by Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford). The W&J senior scored two batters later when Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) smashed a two-run home run off the scoreboard in left. The home run, which was the third of the season for Lutz, cut the Waynesburg lead to 5-3. Two batters later, Evan Sante (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) drew a four-pitch walk to bring the tying run to plate. However, Lucey induced the final out of the game. 

The Presidents were out-hit by a 13-6 margin in the opener. Nate Nolan (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) started and suffered the loss for W&J. His record is 3-1 in 2023. Nolan surrendered four runs on six hits in just two innings. Ethan Boring (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) tossed three strong innings out of the bullpen. 

Game 2 - W&J 8, Waynesburg 5 

The Presidents used the longball to register a comeback victory in game two. W&J, once again, found itself in an early hole. Waynesburg opened with a run in the first before adding three more in the second to lead 4-0. 

W&J responded in a big way in the bottom of the fourth inning. The first four Presidents reached base in the inning.

Trevor Dean (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) doubled to right center to put runners on second and third. Zaas followed with a mammoth shot that tucked inside the foul pole down the right field line. The three-run home run by Zaas was his third of the season.

Two batters later, Logan Scheider (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) hit a two-out double and scored when an errant throw by the Waynesburg shortstop got away. The Scheider run tied the score at 4-4. Ben Schuler (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), making his first collegiate start, would give W&J its first lead of the day. Schuler produced an RBI single down the left field line to give W&J a 5-4 edge. 

Waynesburg would even the score at 5-5 in the top of the seventh inning when Mike Bell singled in the tying run. 

Schuler helped W&J retake the lead in the bottom of the seventh. The freshman walked and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Horvat. Later in the inning, Dean came through with an RBI single to put W&J back in front at 6-5. 

W&J tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Sante cracked a solo home run to lead off the frame. Later in the inning, a two-out RBI triple by Horvat made it 8-5 W&J. 

Horvat grinded through seven innings on the mound to earn the victory. The senior improved to 8-2 on the season. 

Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) logged the final two innings and struck out four to pick up the save. 

Dean paced the Presidents offensively with a multi-hit game. 

On Deck: W&J heads to Mount Union on Sunday, April 16 for a non-conference game. Start time is scheduled for 12 p.m.