April 27, 2014
Grove City defeats Waynesburg 7-4 to take series
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally for a 7-4 victory over Waynesburg and take the Presidents' Athletic Conference season series from the Jackets on Sunday afternoon at R. Jack Behringer Field.
Senior third baseman Matt Corner (Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock) went 3-for-3 while freshman first baseman Matt Waugaman (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) added two hits and two RBI to lead the Wolverines (9-21, 7-14 PAC). Senior second baseman John Rende (West Homestead, Pa./Central Catholic) also added a pair of hits.
Grove City's freshman pitcher Anthony Marnejon (Columbiana, Ohio/Crestview) and Waynesburg's Luke Carter found themselves in a pitcher's duel through three-and-a-half innings, with a Rende infield single in the first and Corner single in the second standing as the only offense.
The Wolverines would strike first in the bottom of the fourth. Corner drew a two-out walk and advanced to third by way of an infield single by freshman catcher Andy Fritz (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) and a Waynesburg error. That set up Corner to score when junior left fielder Josh Hodges (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) singled to center field, giving Grove City a 1-0 lead.
The Grove City advantage would grow to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Waugaman drove freshman shortstop David Laylock (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pine-Richland) home with a single to left field.
Waynesburg's Marc Timmons cut the Wolverine lead in half with one swing of the bat, hitting a home run over the left field wall to lead off the top of the sixth, and the Jackets would add two more runs in the frame to take a 3-2 lead.
The Jackets would hold that lead into the bottom of the seventh, when Hodges would start the Wolverine rally by drawing a leadoff walk. After an out, freshman center fielder Jimmy Palmer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) would drive a single down the left field line and would advance to second when Waynesburg tried to throw Hodges out at third.
Laylock would reach base on an error to load the bases, as Waynesburg's Matt Bensinger failed to cleanly field the ball while holding the runners at second and third. All three runners would then advance on a wild pitch, scoring Hodges to tie the score at 3-3.
Rende would walk to load the bases once again, and a Waugaman groundout would score Palmer to put the Wolverines back on top 4-3. Sophomore designated hitter Travis Royer (Elverson, Pa./Twin Valley) drove the other two runners home with a hard-hit RBI-single to right center field, extending the Grove City advantage to 6-3. Corner and freshman pinch hitter Brandon Gresh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) each hit two-out singles to re-load the bases and prolong the threat, but the Jackets were able to get a strikeout to escape the inning.
After sophomore pitcher Ryan Gallagher (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) retired the Waynesburg side in order in the top of the eighth, the Wolverines would add an insurance run in the bottom of the inning when freshman right fielder Nolan Myers (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a Rende RBI-single to center field.
Waynesburg would take advantage of a Grove City error to cut the deficit to 7-4 with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Gallagher was able to record the final out to preserve the victory.
Gallagher earned the win on the mound in relief, allowing just three hits and one unearned run over three and one-third innings. Marnejon started the game, scattering four hits and three runs with a pair of strikeouts over five and two-thirds innings.
The Wolverines are scheduled to host Washington and Jefferson tomorrow at 4 p.m.
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