LAKE MYRTLE, Fla. -- The Grove City College baseball team opened the 2020 season last week with a 10-game trip to central Florida during the College's Spring Break. The Wolverines went 5-5 overall, including a four-game win streak during the trip.

Junior second baseman Jesse Clary (Cranberry Township, Pa./Eden Christian) helped lead the Grove City offense by hitting .417 (15 for 36) with six doubles, 10 runs scored and 10 runs batted in. Clary had five multi-hit games and recorded at least one hit in nine of the 10 games.

Freshman catcher C.J. Saylor (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) hit .368 (7 for 19) in six starts while sophomore right fielder Colton Lineman (Pittsboro, N.C./Northwood) and senior first baseman Matt Dayton (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) both hit .333 on the trip. 

Senior pitcher Austin Wacker (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) helped pace the pitching staff by going 2-0 with a 0.69 earned run average. He allowed only 10 hits in 13 innings during his two starts. 

Grove City opened the trip February 29 by splitting a doubleheader with Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.). Grove City dropped the opener, 12-5, but rebounded for a 6-3 victory in Game Two. 

Dayton's two-run double in the fourth inning broke a 2-2 tie in the nightcap while junior DH Bubba Hamilton (Garner, N.C./Waynesboro, Pa.) added run-scoring singles in the fourth and sixth innings. Clary doubled, singled and scored three runs while Hamilton finished 2 for 4.

Freshman pitcher Calvin Burns (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic) earned the win by pitching six innings. He struck out seven and allowed two runs. Junior Jacob Brothers (Aurora, Ill./Aurora Christian) struck out the side in the seventh.

In the opener, Dayton went 2 for 3 while freshman third baseman Noah Cyphert (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong) drove in two runs. Junior shortstop Bobby Abbott (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) scored twice. 

Senior pitcher Joel Engstrom (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) started and pitched two innings. He took the setback. Sophomore Robby Randolph (Cranberry Township, Pa./North Catholic) struck out five men in four innings of relief while sophomore Noah Sedmak (Falls Church, Va./Falls Church) pitched a perfect seventh.

Two days later, Grove City swept a doubleheader with Illinois College, 13-8 and 6-4. In Game One, Clary's three-run double highlighted a six-run fourth inning as the Wolverines jumped out to an 8-1 lead. Illinois College rallied to tie the game 8-8 but Saylor singled in Dayton with the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. Cyphert followed with a two-run single that scored Saylor and Hamilton.

Hamilton finished 3 for 4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Clary doubled twice and scored three runs. Saylor also scored twice.

Freshman reliever Austin Basham (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first collegiate win. Junior Lake Pry (West Sunbury, Pa./Moniteau) started and allowed seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Sophomore Tate Ostrowski (Essex, Mass./Covenant Christian) also pitched in relief.

Junior catcher Tanner Orner (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the Wolverines in Game Two against Illinois College by going 3 for 4 with a double. Clary and Lineman both went 2 for 4 while Abbott and Lineman each scored twice. Abbott singled in Lineman in the sixth inning to give the Wolverines their 6-4 lead. 

Wacker allowed one earned run in six innings, earning the victory. Brothers recorded one out in the seventh while Basham retired the two men he faced, securing his first collegiate save.

Grove City trailed Emerson, 5-0, in the second inning March 4 before storming back to earn an 8-6 victory. Abbott's two-run single in the third inning cut Emerson's lead to 5-4 as Lineman and Cyphert came home on the hit. Freshman left fielder Kaz Hoffman (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) tied the game with a sacrifice fly that brought in Saylor.

Clary then cracked a double that scored Abbott, giving Grove City a 6-5 lead. Emerson tied the game in the top of the fifth but the Wolverines reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning when Hamilton drove in sophomore center fielder Matt Knauer (Allison Park, Pa./Eden Christian) with a sacrifice fly. Dayton scored an insurance run by coming home on a wild pitch in the seventh.

Ostrowski struck out seven men in 6 1/3 innings of relief. He allowed two runs (one earned) and only four hits, earning his first win. Basham pitched the ninth for his second save. Randolph started and allowed four runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Grove City's four-game win streak ended the next day with an 8-3 defeat against Neumann. Abbott singled in two runs in the fourth inning while Knauer also knocked in a run with a groundout. Engstrom pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs. He took the setback. Junior D.J. Newby (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) struck out three men in two innings of relief. 

The Wolverines dropped to 4-4 overall on the trip Friday by falling in both ends of a twinbill with midwest power Trine. The Wolverines lost the opener in eight innings, 5-4, then suffered an 8-1 setback in Game Two.

Grove City took a 2-0 lead in the opener on Clary's two-run double in the third. Lineman scored on a wild pitched in the sixth inning while Orner later came home on an Abbott single, giving Grove City a 4-0 lead. Trine scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, tied the game in the seventh and won it in the eighth inning on a misplayed ball that resulted in a game-winning triple.

Hamilton doubled in the opener while Lineman finished 2 for 4. 

Burns struck out six men in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two hits and two earned runs. Basham pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, yielding two earned runs. He took the setback, despite recording four of seven outs via strikeout.

Five Grove City errors foiled the Wolverines in Game Two. Pry allowed eight total runs but only four hits in five innings. The errors led to seven unearned runs. Sedmak pitched two scoreless innings of relief. 

Grove City concluded the trip Saturday by splitting a doubleheader with Concordia (Wis.). Wacker threw a four-hit shutout in the opener to earn his second win of the week. He struck out three and walked one in seven innings. 

Clary helped lead the offense by going 3 for 3 with a double while Hamilton doubled, singled and drove in three runs. Cyphert also doubled. Hamilton's three-run double in the fourth inning broke open the game.

Grove City pounded out 10 hits in Game Two against Concordia (Wis.) but the Wolverines dropped a 9-4 decision. Saylor and sophomore center fielder Joey Kolb (Riverside, Calif./Arlington) both doubled. Saylor, Cyphert and freshman Kyle Weitzel (Butler, Pa./Butler) all went 2 for 3. 

Newby started and struck out six men in three innings. He allowed three unearned runs. Brothers pitched three innings and took the setback. He allowed five earned runs and struck out three.

The Wolverines are scheduled to host Allegheny at 4 p.m. Wednesday in non-conference play.