GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team closed the 2021 regular season Friday afternoon by sweeping a home doubleheader from Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Geneva at Jack Behringer Field. Grove City won the opener, 20-8, then earned an 8-1 win in the non-conference nightcap.

The Wolverines conclude the regular season with a 27-8 overall record. The 27 regular-season wins are the most in program history. Grove City also set a program record with 22 conference wins this year. 

Grove City pounded out 20 hits in Game One, including nine extra-base hits. Fifteen Grove City men batted in the first inning as the Wolverines scored 10 runs. Grove City batted around again in the second inning, adding six more runs. 

Sophomore catcher C.J. Saylor (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) helped lead Grove City by going 3 for 5 with two doubles, three runs scored and three runs batted in. Senior first baseman Bubba Hamilton (Garner, N.C./Waynesboro, Pa.) and sophomore right fielder Anthony Tambellini (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) both doubled as part of 3-for-3 outings. 

Sophomore first baseman Noah Cyphert (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong) entered the game in the fifth inning and finished 2 for 3 with a three-run home run and four total runs batted in. Senior second baseman Bobby Abbott (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) doubled, singled and knocked in two runs while sophomore center fielder Kaz Hoffman (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) doubled and singled.

Senior DH Tanner Orner (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) tripled and senior center fielder Matt Knauer (Allison Park, Pa./Eden Christian) doubled. Senior left fielder Jesse Clary (Cranberry Township, Pa./Eden Christian) scored twice. 

Senior pitcher Lake Pry (West Sunbury, Pa./Moniteau) pitched five innings to earn the win. Pry allowed one earned run while striking out four as he raised his record to 3-1. 

Senior Karl Heiser (Columbia, Md./Washington Christian), freshman Christian Hoffmann (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township), freshman Nate Hamel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) and sophomore Calvin Burns (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic) each pitched one inning of relief. Hamel threw a perfect eighth and Burns blanked Geneva in the ninth.

Grove City trailed 1-0 in Game Two but quickly grabbed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Saylor's two-run triple scored Clary and Tambellini. Saylor then scored on Abbott's sacrifice fly to center field. 

Knauer pushed the lead to 4-1 in the second inning when his groundout scored freshman DH Isaak Flaming (Dresden, Maine/Morse). In the third, Saylor singled home Tambellini and then subsequently scored on a Hamilton double. 

Clary doubled home Knauer in the fourth inning, extending the lead to 7-1. Clary then scored when Saylor hit into a force play. 

Tambellini laced a pair of doubles while going 3 for 4. Clary and Saylor both finished 2 for 4. Grove City finished with 10 hits. 

Senior pitcher Jacob Brothers (Aurora, Ill./Aurora Christian) earned the win by pitching three innings. He struck out three and allowed one run and three hits. Brothers earned his first win of 2021 while also making his first start of the season.

Sophomore Austin Basham (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Freshman Caleb Heiser (Columbia, Md./Annapolis Christian) pitched a scoreless sixth while sophomore Elijah White (Zelienople, Pa./Portersville Christian) struck out the side in the seventh, closing out the win.

Saylor now owns Grove City's single-season record with 50 runs scored. He entered the day tied for first all-time at Grove City with 45 runs scored. He shared the record with Brian Moran, who scored 45 runs in 2008. 

Grove City (22-5) will be the second seed in next week's conference tournament. Washington & Jefferson will host the tournament as top seed. The Wolverines' opponent and game time will be determined over the upcoming weekend.