Grove City College Athletics

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team rallied from a 5-0 deficit Friday night to pull out a 7-5 victory in 10 innings over Chatham in Game I of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, held at Ross Memorial Park.

The win, Grove City's second victory of the day in elimination games, sends the Wolverines to Saturday's championship round. Grove City will face Washington & Jefferson at 4 p.m. Saturday. W&J remained undefeated in the tournament earlier Friday with a 7-4 win over Chatham in the winner's bracket final. 

Freshman pitcher Wyatt Hopson (Middletown, Md./Middletown) earned the victory by throwing nine innings in relief. The rookie left-hander struck out seven men while allowing one run and one hit. He retired the final 23 men that he faced.

Grove City broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the 10th inning when junior catcher Adam Weber (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) cracked a single to left field that scored junior left fielder Dan Luko (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional). Junior right fielder Caleb Backos (Troy, Mich./Bloomfield Christian) advanced to third on an error during the play, then scored when sophomore DH Kallen Durbin (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) reached on an error.

Grove City (22-17) trailed 5-0 after four innings but generated a three-run rally in the top of the fifth inning. Junior center fielder David Chandler (Leesburg, Va./St. John's) and senior second baseman Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) singled consecutively with one out. Both men scored on a two-run double from senior first baseman Colin Marinpetro (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny). 

Marinpetro scored on a wild pitch, cutting Chatham's lead to 5-3. 

Grove City then forged a 5-5 tie in the top of the eighth. Chandler led off with a bunt single and Sampson followed with a single to center field. Marinpetro doubled in Chandler, cutting the lead to 5-4. Sampson scored the tying run on Luko's sacrifice fly.

Weber went 4 for 5 to help lead the Wolverines' 16-hit attack. Chandler went 3 for 6 while Backos doubled and singled. Sampson and senior shortstop Raymond Stierer (Sewickley, Pa./Eden Christian) both had a pair of hits. 

Junior pitcher Jack Houston (Vienna, Va./Vienna) started for Grove City and allowed three earned runs in one inning. Wolverine pitching held Chatham to four hits. 

Grove City stranded 17 runners on base Friday night. 

Hopson's first win this season came March 21 in extra innings against Chatham. That day, he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in Grove City's come-from-behind 6-5 win in 12 innings. Grove City trailed 4-0 that day. 

The Wolverines opened the tournament Wednesday with a 5-1 setback to W&J. Grove City must defeat W&J twice Saturday to capture its second straight conference title.