WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- The Grove City College baseball team took both ends of a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday afternoon from Bethany. Grove City (23-9, 13-3) won the opener, 11-8, then pulled away for a 15-2 victory in Game Two at West Liberty University.

Grove City's nightcap victory marked the 700th win for head coach Matt Royer. The win also clinched Grove City's spot in the season-ending six-team conference tournament. 

Junior first baseman Colin Marinpetro (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and freshman shortstop Sam Meredith (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) both had three hits in the opener while senior second baseman Luke Vittone (Seven Fields, Pa./Eden Christian) and junior center fielder Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) both went 2 for 5. 

Senior right fielder Josh Minnich (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) cracked a two-run double in the sixth inning and freshman DH Kallen Durbin (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) laced a two-run single in the eighth inning. 

Marinpetro, Meredith and Vittone all had run-scoring singles in the top of the third inning. In the fifth inning, Minnich scored on an error and Meredith came home on Durbin's sacrifice fly. Bethany pulled to within 8-6 after seven innings but Sampson scored on an error and Durbin then drove in Meredith and Marinpetro.

Freshman pitcher Dash Lanzilotta (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) earned the win after striking out eight men in five innings. Lanzilotta (3-4) allowed three runs and six hits. Sophomore Michael Earman (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief. Sophomore Bryce Trischler (Mars, Pa./Shady Side Academy) secured the save with 2 1/3 innings of relief.

Trischler leads Grove City with three saves. That's the highest single-season save total for a left-handed pitcher in Grove City history.

Grove City combined 10 hits with 14 Bethany walks and four hit batsmen in Game Two. Meredith helped pace the offense by going 3 for 6. Marinpetro, Minnich, senior DH Shane Cato (New Castle, Pa./Shenango), junior left fielder Andrew Seest (Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins) and junior left fielder Trey Wagner (Mars, Pa./Mars) all doubled. Minnich also scored three runs and knocked in two runs. 

Marinpetro and Wagner both belted two-run doubles during Grove City's six-run ninth inning outburst. Marinpetro, Sampson, Seest and sophomore third baseman Sam Bevin (Louisville, Ky./Wake County) all scored twice in Game Two. 

Junior pitcher Kenny Lavrich (Franklin, Pa./Cranberry) earned the win by allowing two runs in six innings. Lavrich improved to 2-0. Sophomore Jack Houston (Vienna, Va./Vienna) followed with two scoreless innings of relief. Freshman Corey Veverka (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Royer has earned 230 wins as Grove City head coach since taking over the program in 2016. He led the Wolverines to a program-record 28 wins in 2021. The Wolverines matched that mark in 2022, then won 30 games in 2023. Grove City went 27-14 last season. 

Royer has also coached at Wheaton (Ill.), Kutztown and Liberty. Wednesday's nightcap also marked his 1,200th career game as a head coach at NCAA institutions. 

Grove City will visit Thiel for a conference doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. The Wolverines will clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with one win.