LATROBE, Pa. (April 20) – The Saint Vincent baseball team saw its winning streak snapped at eight games after falling in both ends of a home doubleheader against Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Grove City College.
In the opener, Grove City (23-7, 10-2 PAC) broke open a tight ballgame with a four-run eighth inning en route to a 9-4 win, before a late Saint Vincent (15-15, 8-6 PAC) rally fell short in the nightcap, a 9-8 Grove City win.
GAME ONE: Grove City 9, Saint Vincent 4
The Wolverines used a pair of four-run innings to pull away for the victory in the opener, while the SVC bats were held in check, managing just six hits in the loss.
Grove City got on the board first in the top of the second without the aid of a hit, as C.J. Saylor reached on a two-base infield error and then scored all the way from second on a wild pitch to go in front 1-0.
The Wolverines would then put together a lengthy top of the fourth inning, sending nine men to the plate to score four runs on five hits, including a solo Saylor home run to lead off, to open up a 5-0 lead.
The Bearcats looked to chip away in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a pair of two-out runs. With one out,
Billy Perroz drew a walk, before
Jordan Sabol followed with a single to right-center. After a groundout moved both runners up 90 feet,
Devin Bonine laced a single to right to bring both Sabol and Perroz home and cut the deficit to 5-2.
After Saint Vincent reliever
Jacob Hess threw scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth, he ran into a spot of trouble in the top of the seventh, surrendering back-to-back, one-out singles.
Cody May then came on from the bullpen, and after giving up an infield single to load the bases, he escaped the jam with two straight strikeouts to keep the score at 5-2 at the seventh-inning stretch.
The Wolverines would then tack on some insurance runs in the top of the eighth, using an error, two singles and a balk to score four unearned runs and take a 9-2 lead.
Perroz led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple off the fence in center field, before Sabol drew a free pass to put runners at first and third.
Dimitri Gary laced a single down the left field line to bring home Perroz, before Bonine hit a sacrifice fly to right, bringing home Sabol with SVC's fourth run of the game. The rally would fall short, however, as Wolverine reliever Robby Randolph got a strikeout and flyout to end the game.
SVC's six hits were accumulated by six different players. Sabol reached base safely three times, with a single and two walks, and scored two of his team's four runs. Bonine finished with a game-high three RBIs, while Schmude and Perroz both went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Jeremy Kreuzwieser started on the mound and took the loss for SVC, working 3 2/3 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits, with four walks and three strikeouts. Hess threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with a strikeout.
Andrew Stano threw a scoreless ninth.
Tate Ostrowski earned the win for the Wolverines, working 8.0 innings and allowing three runs on just five hits, with 10 strikeouts.
GAME TWO: Grove City 9, SVC 8
In a back-and-forth game two, the Bearcats drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning, as Schude led off with another single, stole second base and scored on
Derek Hald's line drive single to right field.
SVC starter
Michael Klingensmith pitched around a walk and a single to throw a scoreless second inning, and the Bearcats would then add on with another single tally in the bottom half of the frame. Bonine started things by dropping a single into right field, and then stole second and advanced to third on a
Kyle Belmont single. Schmude then laced a ball up the middle, just out of the reach of the Grove City second baseman, to plate Bonine and increase the SVC lead to 2-0.
As they did in the first game, the Wolverines again put together a long fourth inning, batting around to score four runs on five hits and gain a 4-2 lead.
Grove City looked poised to add onto the lead in the top of the fifth, opening the frame with a pair of singles.
Casey Jones was then summoned out of the Bearcat bullpen, and after walking the first batter he faced to load the bases, the veteran righty struck out the next two hitters and then closed the inning with a fly out to the rightfielder Evans, escaping the bases-loaded jam and keeping the deficit at two runs.
The Bearcats fed off of Jones' great escape. Perroz led off the bottom of the fifth with a towering home run to straightaway center, his PAC-leading seventh bomb of the season, before Sabol drew another walk. Bonine followed with a double to put runners at second and third, before Belmont laced a fly ball to right field that plated Sabol.
Alex Hess then smacked a double off the fence in left to bring home Bonine and put the Bearcats in front, 5-4.
The SVC lead was short-lived, as Grove City responded by scoring three runs on four hits in the top of the sixth to go back in front, 7-5.
Evans led off the bottom of the sixth by reaching on a throwing error, and then moved to third on a double by Hald to left-center. Perroz followed with a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Evans with the unearned run and make it a one-run game, 7-6.
In the bottom of the seventh, Bonine singled and
Alex Hess was hit by a pitch, but the Bearcats came up empty, before the Wolverines added onto the lead with a two-run Shane Cato home run to up their lead to 9-6.
Saint Vincent battled back to make it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth. Hald singled and Perroz walked to open the inning, and each advanced 90 feet on a Sabol sacrifice bunt.
Dalton Nicklow then lined a pinch-hit, RBI double to the left field corner to clear the bases and bring SVC to within 9-8. With two outs,
Connor Bannias reached on an error to put the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first, but Grove City reliever Noah Cyphert got an inning-ending flyout to strand the runners. The Bearcats then went down in order in the ninth, as the comeback fell short.
After managing just six hits in the opener, the Bearcats pounded out 14 in the nightcap. Eight different SVC players found the hit column, with Bonine going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Hald 3-for-6 with a run and an RBI. Perroz went 2-for-2, with a double, home run, two walks, two runs and two RBIs, while Schmude finished 2-for-5 with a walk, RBI and run scored.
Klingensmith started and took the no-decision for SVC, working 4.0 innings and allowing four runs in nine hits with two strikeouts. Jones took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) in five innings, striking out four.
Evan Umland started and earned the win for Grove City, allowing five runs on 10 hits, with three strikeouts and four walks. Cyphert got the save after throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bearcats will now step out of conference when they return to action next, traveling to Ohio to take on Marietta College, ranked No. 17 in the latest D3Baseball.com national poll, in a single game at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 23.
