May 6, 2011
Silk smooth in 2-hit shutout
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Grove City College pitcher Kyle Silk (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) fired a two-hit shutout Friday afternoon to help lift the Wolverines to a 5-0 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Westminster at Neshannock High School.
Silk struck out a career-high 10 and did not walk a batter in nine innings of work. He raised his season record to 5-2 with his second shutout of the season.
Grove City (19-14, 13-6 PAC) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when senior shortstop Scott Moran (Columbia, Md./Chapelgate Christian) singled and later came home on a run-scoring single from senior catcher Marcus Magister (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton).
The Wolverines extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning when senior left fielder Butch Kriger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) belted a two-run double that scored junior second baseman Brandon Durbin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) and senior DH Kyle Wolff (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville). Sophomore first baseman Kyle Shock (Loudonville, Ohio/Hillsdale) scored on an error prior to Kriger's double.
Moran scored the Wolverines' final run in the fifth when he scored on a sacrifice fly from freshman third baseman Tom Hawley (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora).
Kriger finished 2 for 3 for Grove City. The Wolverines had just six hits in the game.
Silk is the first Grove City pitcher to throw a nine-inning shutout under head coach Rob Skaricich. It is Grove City's first nine-inning shutout since April 22, 2008, when Zach Hillegas and Chris Bowser combined for a 3-0 win over Geneva. Skaricich earned his 235th win at the helm Friday. Retired head coach/athletic director Jack Behringer holds the baseball coaching wins record with 236 victories from 1959 to 1988.
The victory also keeps alive Grove City's hopes of capturing the top seed in next week's Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament. Grove City must sweep its doubleheader with visiting Westminster Saturday at R. Jack Behringer Field. The Wolverines would then need Thomas More (13-5 PAC) to take two of three games with Washington & Jefferson (14-4 PAC) in the teams' weekend series in Crestview Hills, Ky. In a three-way tie at 15-6, Grove City (4-2) would have the head-to-head edge over W&J (3-3) and Thomas More (2-4).
Saturday's Grove City-Westminster doubleheader begins at 2 p.m.
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