GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team improved to 3-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference by sweeping a conference doubleheader Tuesday afternoon from visiting Thiel at Jack Behringer Field. Grove City earned a 5-1 victory in the opener, then pulled out an 8-7 win in Game Two. 

In the nightcap, Grove City broke a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the ninth when sophomore second baseman Jesse Clary (Cranberry Township, Pa./Eden Christian) scored on a throwing error. Clary opened the inning by reaching on a throwing error. He advanced to second on a one-out pinch-hit single from senior Travis Auth (Medina, Ohio/Medina), then came home when Thiel failed to complete a double play. 

Grove City (13-7, 3-1 PAC) trailed 3-0 in the third inning before storming back. Sophomore left fielder Matt Knauer (Allison Park, Pa./Eden Christian) opened the scoring when crossed home on an error. 

The Wolverines then erupted for five runs in the fifth inning. Junior first baseman Matt Dayton (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) singled in Knauer while senior center fielder Shane Hammel (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) singled home freshman right fielder Colton Lineman (Chapel Hill, N.C./Northwood) with the tying run. Dayton scored when junior shortstop Bobby Abbott (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) hit into a force play and sophomore DH Bubba Hamilton (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) followed with a sacrifice fly that scored senior third baseman Micah Burke (Gilbert, Ariz./E.V.A.C.).

Abbott scored the fifth run of the inning when Knauer walked with the bases loaded. In the sixth, Hamilton's bases-loaded walk scored Dayton. Thiel rallied to tie the game with four runs in the top of the eighth, however. 

Clary and Hammel both had two hits for the Wolverines.

Sophomore pitcher Jacob Brothers (Aurora, Ill./Aurora Christian) earned the win in relief for Grove City. Brothers (4-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the Wolverines. Senior pitcher John Bini (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian) started and allowed six runs in 7 2/3 innings. Junior Austin Wacker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) also allowed a run in the eighth. 

In the opener, a seven-inning game, Burke paced the offense by going 4 for 4 with two runs scored. He opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when he came in on Clary's walk with the bases loaded. Burke doubled the lead in the second inning when he singled in Lineman. 

Thiel cut the lead to 2-1 in the third but Grove City added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Dayton doubled in Lineman, pushing the lead to 3-1. Abbott's squeeze bunt brought in Dayton with Grove City's fourth run while Clary followed with a run-scoring single that brought in Burke. 

Sophomore pitcher Lake Pry (West Sunbury, Pa./Moniteau) pitched into the seventh inning, earning the win. He allowed one run and three hits in six-plus innings. Fry struck out seven. Wacker entered the game with two men on and no outs in the seventh but quickly ended the threat with a strikeout and a game-ending double play. He earned his first save of the season and the sixth of his career. 

Grove City will host conference foe Westminster at 3 p.m. Friday in a single game. The Wolverines will then head to Westminster for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon.