GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College softball team improved to 3-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference by sweeping a home doubleheader Thursday from conference foe Thiel at College Field. Grove City won Game One in five innings, 8-0, and then picked up an 8-0, five-inning victory in the nightcap.

Senior pitcher Ashley Cornelius (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) fired a three-hit shutout in Game One while sophomore Janessa Dawson (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley) followed with a three-hit shutout in the nightcap. Neither pitcher walked a batter. Cornelius struck out five batters and Dawson fanned two.

In the opener, Grove City broke through with four runs in the fourth and then four more runs in the fifth inning. Senior first baseman Haley Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) led off the fourth with a triple and scored Grove City's first run when junior shortstop Lexi Buck (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) singled. 

Following a bunt single by junior center fielder Morgan Prouty (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley), Dawson belted a two-run triple. Dawson then scored the fourth run of the inning when junior second baseman Cara Polese (San Diego, Calif./Canyon Crest) singled.

Polese gave Grove City a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning of Game One when she singled in Dietz. Senior right fielder Hannah Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) then ended the game via the eight-run rule as she blasted a three-run double to right center. 

Polese finished 3 for 4 while freshman catcher Emily Smyth (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) went 3 for 3. Buck, Dawson and Haley Dietz all finished with two hits. 

Grove City quickly grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second game. Haley Dietz doubled in Hannah Dietz. Smyth, who again went 3 for 3, singled home Haley Dietz. 

Smyth pushed Grove City's lead to 3-0 in the third inning when she drove in Polese with a single. Freshman third baseman Maralee Caldana (Milesburg, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) cracked a run-scoring double that brought in freshman pinch runner Lauren McNeil (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian).

In the fourth, freshman pinch hitter Erin Mulholland (Malvern, Pa./Delaware County Christian) led off with a double and later scored on a Dawson single. Hannah Dietz closed the scoring by launching a three-run home run to center field. She now has a team-leading three home runs and a program-best 12 career home runs.

Hannah Dietz and Polese both had two hits for the Wolverines, who accumulated 11 hits in Game Two. 

Grove City (8-10 overall) will visit Waynesburg at 1 p.m. Saturday for a conference doubleheader.