WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A five-run eighth inning Friday night helped vault the Grove City College baseball team to an 8-4 win over Westminster in an elimination game at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. 

The win sends Grove City to Saturday's championship round, where the Wolverines will face host Washington & Jefferson at Ross Memorial Park. Top-seeded W&J downed Grove City in Friday's opener, 12-5. 

Junior shortstop Luke Vittone (Seven Fields, Pa./Eden Christian) opened the top of the eighth inning with a single, then advanced to third base on consecutive wild pitches. Sophomore third baseman Kenny Lavrich (Franklin, Pa./Cranberry) then drove in Vittone with a bloop single, giving Grove City a 4-3 lead. 

Lavrich advanced to third on an error and then came home on a squeeze bunt from junior catcher Sam DiStefano (Fairview, Pa./Fairview). DiStefano later scored on a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Josh Minnich (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), pushing the lead to 6-3.

Sophomore center fielder Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) capped the rally with a two-run single that brought home freshman third baseman Sam Bevin (Louisville, Ky./Wake County) and freshman DH Caison Holland (Freedom, Pa./Ambridge).

Westminster scored once in the bottom of the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs. However, junior pitcher Evan Umland (Pasadena, Calif./La Canada) retired Jake Dockum on a groundout to Lavrich, ending the game.

Umland (5-4) earned the win by throwing a complete game. He struck out eight men and did not walk a man.

Westminster grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning but Grove City forged a tie by scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Sampson doubled with one out in the fourth inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Trey Wagner (Mars, Pa./Mars). In the fifth, Bevin led off with a single and scored on Minnich's one-out double. 

Grove City took its first lead, 3-2, in the seventh inning as Bevin singled, went to third on a Minnich hit and scored on a single by senior first baseman Markus Williams (Sewickley, Pa./Eden Christian).

Bevin finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Sampson went 3 for 5 while Holland, Minnich and Vittone each had two hits in Grove City's 15-hit attack.

W&J scored twice in each of the first two innings in Friday's first game. The Presidents then added four more runs in the fourth inning. 

Bevin tripled, doubled and singled while driving in three runs for Grove City (27-13). DiStefano went 3 for 3 while Holland doubled. Wagner cracked a two-run single that scored freshman second baseman Michael Earman (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) and sophomore pinch hitter Andrew Seest (Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins). 

Bevin allowed seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, taking the pitching loss as the starter. Freshman Clay Dean (Smock, Pa./Uniontown) pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief. Freshman James Hensell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Senior Christian Hoffmann (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) pitched a scoreless eighth inning. 

Saturday's championship game starts at 1 p.m. Grove City must defeat W&J twice to win the conference title. If the Wolverines win the first game, the "if necessary" game will follow approximately 30 minutes after the opener concludes.