GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team opened its Presidents' Athletic Conference schedule Saturday afternoon by earning a 12-5 win over host Thiel at Tomcat Park. Grove City (7-8) posted a season-high 12 runs in the win by combining eight hits, nine walks and four Thiel errors.

Freshman catcher Tanner Orner (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) paced Grove City's offense by going 3 for 5 while senior left fielder Tyler Graham (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) and junior right fielder Shane Hammel (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) both doubled.

Sophomore shortstop Bob Abbott (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) drove in a season-high four runs and Hammel knocked in three runs. Junior DH Bobby Dulay (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) scored three times while Hammel and sophomore first baseman Matt Dayton (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) both scored twice.

Junior pitcher John Bini (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian) fired eight innings to earn the win. He struck out four and allowed four runs. Sophomore Corey Thomas (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) pitched a perfect ninth inning in relief.

Grove City, the designated home team for the game, took command of the game by scoring six times in the bottom of the first. Dayton opened the scoring by walking with the bases loaded. Hammel then unloaded the bases with a three-run double. Hammel later scored on an error while Dulay scored the sixth run of the inning on an Abbott groundout. 

Thiel cut Grove City's lead to 6-3 in the fourth inning but Grove City countered with a four-run fifth. Sophomore center fielder Austin Wacker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) singled in Hammel. Abbott and Graham both walked with the bases loaded. Wacker scored Grove City's 10th run on a double play. 

Abbott singled in Dayton and Dulay in the sixth inning to close Grove City's scoring.

Saturday's game had been scheduled as part of a doubleheader at Grove City. The teams moved one game to Thiel due to the winter weather that recently affected Grove City. The teams will play the second nine-inning game Monday afternoon at Grove City. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.