March 27, 2006

Wolverines open PAC play with sweep

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team improved to 8-2 Monday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Bethany (2-12, 0-2 PAC). The Wolverines (2-0 PAC) earned a 2-1 victory in the opener, then secured a 3-0 nightcap win.

In the opener, senior pitcher Ryan Carr (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) fired a five-hitter to improve to 3-0 on the season. Carr struck out six batters and allowed just one run. Senior pitcher Erik Arnesen (Princeton, N.J./Timothy Christian) tossed a three-hit shutout in the nightcap. He struck out nine and walked only one batter.

Grove City took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of Game One as sophomore DH Mike Hess (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) singled and eventually scored on a single from junior center fielder Chris Schwamberger (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison).

In the third, Grove City doubled its lead as sophomore third baseman Bryan Pierrot (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored on a single by senior shortstop Mike Ritter (Moon Township, Pa./Moon). Hess also doubled in the win while junior first baseman Dan Bartkowiak (Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia) collected a career-high three hits in three at-bats.

The Wolverines assumed a 1-0 lead in the nightcap in the third inning as sophomore outfielder John Coyne (Solon, Ohio/Solon) belted a leadoff homer. Grove City extended the lead to 2-0 in the fourth as Bartkowiak singled, stole second and scored on a Schwamberger single.

Freshman second baseman Ben Wilson (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee Davis) opened the fifth with a double and scored on a two-out single by Pierrot. Hess and senior right fielder Jerry Ott (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) both doubled in the win while Ritter finished 2-for-3.

Arnesen now has 30 strikeouts in 21 innings this year. Carr, meanwhile, has allowed just 12 hits and three walks in 20 innings. Grove City pitchers have 70 strikeouts in 73 innings this year while yielding just 67 hits.

Grove City will host Hiram Tuesday afternoon in a non-conference 9-inning game at 3 p.m.

Game One Box Score            Game Two Box Score

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