April 27, 2013

Grove City earns split with Thiel

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader with visiting Thiel Saturday afternoon at R. Jack Behringer Field. Grove City captured a 13-6 victory in the opener but Thiel rebounded for an 8-0 victory in Game Two.

In the opener, Grove City trailed 6-5 in the fourth but scored eight unanswered runs. Senior center fielder Josh Sacks (Columbia, Md./Chapelgate Christian) tied the game with a single that drove in senior right fielder Cameron Jones (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro).

Three batters later, senior catcher Garrett Herald (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) belted a go-ahead three-run homer.

Herald then broke open the game in the bottom of the sixth with a grand slam. He now leads the team with four home runs and 13 runs batted in.

Thiel jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first but the Wolverines answered with a five-run outburst that featured run-scoring singles from freshman DH Kenny McCracken (Wheaton, Ill./Aurora Christian), senior left fielder Zach Struharik (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) and freshman shortstop J.R. Mountain (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane).

Junior second baseman John Rende (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) went 2 for 3 with three runs scored. Sacks also scored three runs.

Senior pitcher Zach Butler (Massillon, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) pitched a complete game for the Wolverines, allowing four earned runs in seven innings. He struck out three.

Thiel took control of Game Two by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh against the Grove City bullpen. Sophomore Mason Stephens (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) started and allowed two earned runs in five innings. He took the defeat, however. Freshman Scott Williams (Creston, Ohio/Norwayne) and freshman Ryan Gallagher (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) both pitched in relief.

Senior first baseman Kyle Shock (Loudonville, Ohio/Hillsdale) doubled and singled for Grove City.

The Wolverines (5-18, 4-13) will visit Saint Vincent Tuesday at 2 p.m. for a conference doubleheader.

Game One Box Score                Game Two Box Score

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