WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team improved to 11-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference by taking both ends of a conference doubleheader Thursday afternoon at Waynesburg. Grove City won the opener, 16-6, then picked up a 9-2 victory in the nightcap. 

It is Grove City's third consecutive doubleheader sweep in conference play. The Wolverines (21-9) have won seven straight games overall.

Grove City jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning of Game One as senior right fielder Josh Minnich (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), freshman DH Kallen Durbin (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) and sophomore third baseman Sam Bevin (Louisville, Ky./Wake County) all roped two-run singles. 

Senior catcher Sam DiStefano (Fairview, Pa./Fairview) added a run-scoring single as Grove City sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning. Durbin's run-scoring groundout pushed the lead to 8-1 in the second while Minnich and freshman shortstop Sam Meredith (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) had consecutive run-scoring singles in the third inning. 

Senior second baseman Luke Vittone (Seven Fields, Pa./Eden Christian) extended the lead to 13-1 with a three-run homer that also scored Meredith and Minnich. Durbin cracked a two-run single in the fifth inning and then scored on a DiStefano double.

Minnich helped lead Grove City's 21-hit attack by going 4 for 5. DiStefano and Durbin both had three hits while Bevin, Meredith, Vittone, junior first baseman Colin Marinpetro (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and junior center Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) all had two hits. Marinpetro and Minnich each scored three times. 

Senior pitcher David Leslie (Butler, Pa./Butler) earned the win by allowing one run in five innings. Leslie (7-1) struck out four men and did not walk a batter. Sophomore Wil Peters (Mesa, Ariz./Westwood) pitched in relief in the sixth inning. Junior Kenny Lavrich (Franklin, Pa./Cranberry) closed out the win with two innings of relief. The 10-run rule halted the game after seven innings. 

Bevin belted a pair of two-run homers in Game Two while Marinpetro homered, doubled and singled. DiStefano doubled and singled, as did sophomore left fielder Dan Luko (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional). Meredith finished 2 for 5. 

Bevin's first blast gave Grove City a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Two batters later, Marinpetro launched a solo homer. In the fifth inning, DiStefano doubled in Luko and then scored on Bevin's second home run of the game. 

Marinpetro and Meredith both singled in runs in the seventh while Minnich singled home Sampson in the ninth inning to close the scoring. 

Sophomore pitcher Bryce Trischler (Mars, Pa./Shady Side Academy) pitched 7 1/3 innings to secure the win. Trischler (4-1) allowed two runs and seven hits. He struck out two. Freshman Dash Lanzilotta (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) closed out the win by pitching the final 1 2/3 innings. Lanzilotta allowed one hit and fanned two. 

Thursday's twinbill started a seven-game road trip for the Wolverines. Grove City will visit conference foe Bethany for a doubleheader next Wednesday at 1 p.m.