Grove City College Athletics

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning Thursday afternoon and added three more tallies in the bottom of the third on the way to a 12-1 win Thursday afternoon over top-seeded Westminster in an elimination game at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, held at Ross Memorial Park.

The Grove City offense produced five hitters with multiple hits as the Wolverines finished with 16 hits. All nine offensive starters had at least one hit, led by a 4-for-4 outing from junior center fielder David Chandler (Leesburg, Va./St. John's). 

Chandler doubled and also laced three singles. Junior right fielder Caleb Backos (Troy, Mich./Bloomfield Christian), junior left fielder Dan Luko (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and freshman third baseman Nick Remish (Norristown, Pa./Methacton) all launched home runs while also singling. 

Senior first baseman Colin Marinpetro (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) went 2 for 5 while junior catcher Adam Weber (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) and freshman DH Johnny Reyes (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) both doubled.

Freshman pitcher Noah Mackie (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) earned the pitching win by throwing his third complete game of the season. Mackie (2-4) fired a career-high nine innings and allowed seven hits. He struck out five and walked two batters. 

Chandler led off the game with a double and scored on a single from senior second baseman Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township). Luko's solo homer pushed the lead to 2-0 while Backos later scored on a Weber double. Remish scored the fourth run of the inning on a balk.

Backos cracked a solo home run in the third inning to ignite that rally. Senior shortstop Raymond Stierer (Sewickley, Pa./Eden Christian) and Chandler followed with run-scoring singles. 

Remish's solo blast to right field gave Grove City (20-17) an 8-1 lead in the fifth inning. One inning later, Backos roped a two-run single that scored Chandler and Marinpetro. Luko later scored on a Remish sacrifice fly. 

Sampson's run-scoring groundout in the seventh inning brought home senior pinch runner Kenny Lavrich (Franklin, Pa./Cranberry), closing the scoring.

Grove City, the tournament's No. 5 seed will play another elimination game Friday in the conference tournament. The site and opponent will be determined by the remainder of Thursday's results.