April 26, 2005

Wolverines take two from Thiel

GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team took two of three completed games from Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Thiel Tuesday afternoon at Packard Park. The Wolverines (6-19, 3-9 PAC) opened the day with a 7-4 win over Thiel in a game that was suspended from April 22.

In the teams' scheduled doubleheader, Thiel took the opener 3-2 but Grove City bounced back for a 4-3 win in the nightcap.

The suspended game started in the top of the sixth with the score tied 3-3. Thiel picked up a run in the top of the eighth against Wolverine reliever Mike Kennedy (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) but Grove City charged back in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead for good.

A Jerry Ott (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) single scored senior first baseman Joel Diller (Hartville, Ohio/Marlington), tying the game 4-4. Freshman right fielder Ryan Jones (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from senior A.J. Stedford (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) while Ott scored on a double by senior third baseman Jonathan Mycyk (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy).

Mycyk scored Grove City's seventh run on an error. Sophomore Justin Miller (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) fired a perfect ninth inning to earn the save. Kennedy picked up the win, allowing one run in three innings. Junior Ryan Carr (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) started the game last Friday and pitched five innings, yielding two earned runs.

Diller finished the game 3-for-4 with a double while Ott also doubled.

In the opener of the doubleheader, Thiel jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first but would manage only three more hits the rest of the afternoon against Grove City senior right-hander Luke Lester (Dover, Ohio/Dover).

Grove City trimmed the lead to 3-1 in the third as Mycyk doubled and scored on a single from junior shortstop Mike Ritter (Moon Township, Pa./Moon). Two innings later, freshman DH Michael Busin (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) doubled and scored on an error. Stedford went 2-for-3 in the setback while Ritter went 2-for-4. Lester took the loss, allowing the three early runs in six innings. He struck out two and walked only one.

Again, Thiel grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap. Ott and Stedford opened the second inning with singles and eventually scored on back-to-back groundouts by Mycyk and Michael McMillen (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny).

In the sixth, Diller tied the game by scoring on a passed ball while a wild pitch brought Ott home with the go-ahead run. Sophomore Eric Hull (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) retired Thiel in the sixth while Miller preserved the win for Hull by retiring Thiel in the seventh.

The save is Miller's third of the year, which ties the single-season College record set by current junior Erik Arnesen (Princeton, N.J./Timothy Christian) in 2004. Arnesen and Ron Jones (1996-99) share the career saves record with three. Hull allowed just one hit in three scoreless innings of relief. Senior Mike Gundy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids) started and allowed three runs in three innings.

Diller and McMillen each collected a pair of hits in the victory while Ott scored twice.

Grove City will play Oberlin in a doubleheader Thursday night at Cene Park in Struthers, Ohio. The twinbill starts at 6:30 p.m.

Suspended Game Box Score            Game One Box Score        Game Two Box Score

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