April 22, 2010

Grove City sweeps Chatham

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College softball team swept visiting Chatham in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader Thursday afternoon at College Field. Grove City earned a 7-4 win in the opener and then rallied for a 9-5 win in Game Two.

In Game One, Grove City (10-19, 5-5 PAC) trailed 2-0 in the bottom of the third but took the lead with a five-run outburst. Junior shortstop Christine Slater (Aliquippa, Pa./Center) and sophomore right fielder Grace Murtoff (Carlisle, Pa./Boiling Springs) both had run-scoring singles during the inning. The Wolverines also took advantage of two Chatham errors during the inning.

In the fifth, freshman third baseman Amanda Sheppeck (Butler, Pa./Knoch) roped an RBI single while an error led to Grove City's seventh run.

Sheppeck, Slater and Murtoff all went 2 for 4 in the win. Sheppeck also scored a pair of runs.

Junior pitcher Lauren Pennell (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) earned the win after allowing two unearned runs in four innings. Sheppeck allowed two unearned runs in the fifth and freshman Lauren Clarke (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) earned her second save of 2010 by throwing two scoreless innings.

Chatham (7-21, 2-10 PAC) grabbed a 4-0 lead in the third inning but Grove City, the visiting team in the nightcap, posted six runs in the top of the fourth inning. Pennell cracked a run-scoring double to help ignite the inning. Freshman catcher Carolyn Vaeth (Islip, N.Y./Islip) drove in Pennell with a squeeze bunt while junior second baseman Sarah Young (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut) also singled in a run.

Slater's two-run single to center put Grove City ahead to stay.

Grove City pushed the lead to 8-5 in the top of the sixth as Sheppeck belted a two-run homer to left. In the seventh, Pennell scored an insurance run on a passed ball.

Sheppeck went 3 for 4 in the second game while Pennell doubled twice. Slater went 2 for 4. Pennell earned the win in the circle after pitching 4 2/3 innings of relief. She struck out six and allowed just one earned run. Clarke started and gave up three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Grove City will visit Penn State Behrend Friday in a non-conference doubleheader at 3:30 p.m.

Game One Box Score            Game Two Box Score

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