April 15, 2005
Grove City rallies for 1st PAC win
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- A four-run outburst in the bottom of eighth inning propelled the Grove City College baseball team to a 10-8 win over Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Bethany (14-11, 3-4 PAC) Friday afternoon at College Field. It is the Wolverines' first PAC victory of the season.
A two-out, two-run double by senior Joel Diller (Hartville, Ohio/Marlington) scored junior shortstop Mike Ritter (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) and freshman DH Michael Busin (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock), breaking an 8-8 tie.
Grove City trailed 8-6 entering the eighth but senior catcher A.J. Stedford (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) opened the inning with a double. Freshman pinch runner Steve Zimora (Cobleskill, N.Y./Richmondville) scored on a single by senior outfielder Michael McMillen (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny). Ritter and Busin followed with singles, loading the bases.
McMillen, who went 4-for-4 with three runs scored in the win, scored the game-tying run on a wild pitch. Diller's double put Grove City up for good. Sophomore reliever Justin Miller (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) pitched the ninth to earn his first career save. Junior reliever Mike Kennedy (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) earned the win after pitching a perfect eighth inning.
Grove City trailed 2-0 early but eventually took a 6-5 lead in the sixth on run-scoring singles by McMillen and Ritter and a sacrifice fly by freshman second baseman Bryan Pierrot (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth). Junior center fielder Jerry Ott (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) ignited the inning with a one-out double.
Grove City amassed a season-high 16 hits in the victory. Stedford went 3-for-3 while Diller, Ott and Ritter all had two hits. Eight of Grove City's nine starters had at least one hit.
Junior Ryan Carr (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) started for Grove City, allowing eight runs in seven innings.
The Wolverines (4-15 overall) will visit Bethany for a PAC doubleheader Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
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