GROVE CITY
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Grove City College baseball team concluded its record-setting 2023 season Friday with a pair of setbacks at the 2023 PAC Championship Tournament, hosted by Washington & Jefferson at Ross Memorial Park.
Grove City dropped the winner’s bracket final Friday afternoon to W&J in 10 innings, 4-3. The Wolverines then dropped Friday’s night’s elimination game with Saint Vincent, 13-6. GCC finishes the season 30-11 — a program record for single-season victories.
In the opener, W&J’s Jacob LaDuca homered on the second pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning to break the 3-3 tie. Grove City had runners on first and second in the top of the inning with no outs but a double play and groundout ended the threat.
Grove City took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when sophomore DH Shane Cato singled in senior catcher C.J. Saylor. The Wolverines then added two runs in the fifth inning as senior right fielder Anthony Tambellini scored on an error and sophomore shortstop Luke Vittone came home on a sacrifice fly from freshman center fielder Nick Sampson.
W&J tied the game with a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the ninth, Saylor and junior first baseman Markus Williams each singled with one out but the Wolverines stranded both men.
Grove City finished the game with five hits.
Sophomore pitcher David Leslie struck out six men in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three hits. Sophomore Evan Umland pitched the final 3 2/3 innings of relief. Umland (7-4) struck out two but took the setback.
Grove City trailed Saint Vincent in the fourth inning, 1-0, but Saylor tied the game by singling in sophomore right fielder Josh Minnich. Two batters later, Cato belted a go-ahead two-run home run, his fourth blast of the season.
Saint Vincent trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the fifth inning, then pulled ahead for good by scoring five times in the top of the sixth inning. Grove City cut the lead in half when Williams launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
However, Saint Vincent added four runs in the seventh inning and single runs in the final two innings. Saylor scored on junior second baseman Lucca Baccari’s sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Williams finished 2 for 3 while Saylor and Sampson both went 2 for 4. Minnich scored twice.
Senior pitcher Noah Cyphert made his first collegiate start and pitched into the sixth inning. He pitched a career-best 5 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits. Cyphert fanned one but took the setback.
Sophomore Isaiah Zuchowski, senior Robby Randolph and freshman Kenny Lavrich all pitched in relief.
Saint Vincent will face W&J in today’s championship round at 1 p.m.
Grove City will lose Cyphert, Randolph, Saylor, Tambellini and pitcher Tate Ostrowski to graduation.
WESTMINSTER
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Westminster College baseball team was dealt a 7-4 elimination game loss by Saint Vincent College Friday afternoon in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament.
Top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College is serving as the host of the four-team, double-elimination championship tournament at Ross Memorial Park.
Westminster, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, ended its season 20-20. It was the second-straight year the Titans entered the championship tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Titans were the runner-up in last year’s tournament.
Saint Vincent jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of second inning runs.
In the top of the third senior center fielder Brandon Cooper delivered a first pitch, two out three-run home run to key the four-run frame. It was the first home run allowed this season by Saint Vincent starter Michael Klingensmith and the fourth of the season for Cooper. Junior second baseman Donald Shimko drove in the fourth run with an RBI single later in the inning. The base hit scored junior catcher Chase Tomko (West Middlesex High), who drew a walk after Cooper’s home run. Westminster had five hits in the four run third.
Saint Vincent responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to grab a 6-4 lead. Three of the Bearcats’ runs in the third were scored with two outs. Saint Vincent loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but a 4-6-3 double play erased the scoring threat.
Saint Vincent tacked on another run in the seventh.
With two outs in the ninth sophomore third baseman Braeden Campbell singled before junior designated hitter Carter Chinn (Grove City High) drew a walk. Casey Jones replaced Klingensmith after the Chinn walk and retired junior left fielder Matthew Randza to end the game. It was Jones’ third save this spring.
Junior starter Logan Exler fell to 5-3 this season with the Game D loss, allowing six runs (5 earned) on 11 hits in 3.0 innings. Junior lefty Timothy Lewis (Wilmington High) gave up one run (earned) on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in 4.0 relief innings. Sophomore Ryan Gibbons pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Campbell went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base. He combined to hit .600 (6-10) in this year’s two championship tournament games. Cooper finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, three RBIs and a run scored. Tomko was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
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GROVE CITY
• Men’s Lacrosse — Senior midfielder Brett Gladstone earned PAC Offensive Player of the Year honors from the league’s head men’s lacrosse coaches while sixth-year head coach Alec Jernstedt captured the league’s Coach of the Year award.
Nine teammates joined Gladstone on the respective All-PAC teams. Sophomore attack Matt Blythe, senior defender Cody Adams, senior long stick midfielder Addison Bennett and senior short stick defensive midfielder David Kraus earned First Team All-PAC.
Sophomore attack Zachary Hougan, freshman attack Kobi Bui, junior midfielder Luke Jayne and senior defender Brock Simmons all captured Second Team honors.
Sophomore short stick defensive midfielder Jason Muench merited All-PAC Honorable Mention.
Gladstone earned the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award for the third straight season after firing in 36 goals this season. He also has 24 assists this year. Gladstone ranks second on the team in assists and third in goals and points (60).
Gladstone owns Grove City’s career records with 212 goals and 286 total points.
Blythe leads the Wolverines with 53 goals this season and ranks second on the squad with 62 points. In conference play, Blythe pumped in 29 goals and also had seven caused turnovers. He earned First Team All-PAC and Newcomer of the Year honors in 2022.
Adams helped anchor Grove City’s defense and finished the season with 12 caused turnovers. A two-time All-American, Adams earned his second straight First Team All-PAC honors after capturing Second Team laurels in 2021.
Bennett leads the Wolverines with 17 caused turnovers this year. He has added three goals and 22 ground balls. This is Bennett’s third straight All-PAC honor. He earned Second Team in 2022 after receiving Honorable Mention All-PAC in 2021.
Kraus earned his second straight First Team All-PAC honor after ranking second on the squad with 42 ground balls. He also posted 11 caused turnovers, eight goals and five assists this season.
Bui leads Grove City with 64 points this year, having accumulated 45 goals and 19 assists. He scored a dozen goals in Grove City’s six conference games during the regular season.
Hougan has a team-leading 25 assists this year while ranking fourth on the team in goals (33) and points (58). Hougan tallied 10 goals and eight assists in five conference appearances.
Jayne has amassed 27 goals and 17 assists in his first season at Grove City. He led the Wolverines with 10 assists in conference play.
Simmons joined Adams in Grove City’s defensive corps and has nine caused turnovers. A three-year starter for Grove City, Simmons added two assists this year. He earned First Team All-PAC in 2022.
Muench has played in 16 games this season, emerging as an integral cog in the Wolverines’ defense. He has three goals and an assist, along with five caused turnovers.
Jernstedt guided Grove City to its fourth straight conference title. He also earned PAC Coach of the Year in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Gladstone also earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the conference tournament, which Grove City won last Saturday with a 27-3 win over Saint Vincent. Hougan, Kraus, Muench and Simmons earned All-Tournament recognition.
Grove City will face Swarthmore at 3 p.m. today in the second round of the NCAA Championship Tournament in Lexington, Va.
WESTMINSTER
• Men’s Lacrosse — Westminster senior attack Nick Hubner and sophomore midfielder Gavin Jones highlighted 10 selections to the All-PAC Men’s Lacrosse teams, as announced by the league office Friday morning.
The league’s nine head coaches determined, by vote, this year’s All-PAC teams and annual award winners.
Hubner and Jones earned First Team All-PAC.
Sophomore defender Brody McGuinness, senior long stick midfielder Mike Roman and junior faceoff Colin O’Malley were named Second Team All-PAC. Senior attack Ryan Greer, freshman attack Brady Page, senior defender Kyle Hoeflich, junior defender Aaron Alderette and freshman short stick defensive midfielder Jahiem Hawkins claimed Honorable Mention All-PAC.
Hubner paced the PAC this season with 56 goals and ranked fourth in the league with 65 points (56G, 9A). His 56 goals and 65 points both set new program single-season records. Hubner was named the league’s offensive player of the week twice this season. Jones totaled 57 points on 41 goals and 16 assists. Six of his scores were man-up goals. Jones added 51 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. It is his first all-conference selection. Jones was recognized as a member of the PAC’s All-Tournament Team.
McGuinness earned Second Team All-PAC for the second-straight year after finishing the season with 62 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers. The 30 caused turnovers were the fourth-most in the league. McGuinness was also named an all-tournament team selection. Roman was selected as an All-PAC performer for the third-straight year after finishing fifth in the PAC in ground balls (69) and caused turnovers (28). He is the program’s career leader in ground balls (237) and caused turnovers (107). O’Malley’s 129 faceoff wins ranked third in the PAC while his 68 ground balls were seventh. He finished the season with a .578 faceoff win percentage (129-94).
Greer, a three-time All-PAC pick and two-time first team selection, finished the season with 62 points on 36 goals and 26 assists while adding 32 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers. Seven of is 36 goals were man-up scores. His 26 assists ranked fourth in the PAC while his 62 points ranked fifth. Greer is the program’s all-time points leader with 189 after registering 108 goals and 81 assists in 52 career games played. His 108 career goals rank second all-time in program history (Ryan Shorts, 2016-19; 110). Alderette, twice named All-PAC, finished the season with 30 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. Hoeflich, a first-time all-conference selection, totaled 32 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers. Hawkins appeared in all 17 games this season, finishing with 31 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers.
Senior midfielder Boyd Foster was recognized as a member of the league’s nine-player sportsmanship team.
Westminster finished sixth in Division III in caused turnovers per game (14.35/g) and 27th in man-up offense (.426).
Westminster and first-year head coach Anthony Accardi secured the No. 3 seed in this year’s championship tournament after finishing the regular season 10-6 overall and 5-2 in league play. The Titans have reached the league’s championship tournament four-straight times, finishing as the runner-up in 2019 and 2021.
THIEL
• Men’s Lacrosse — Chase Lawler and Steve Alcegaire were named to the All-PAC men’s lacrosse teams Friday.
A sophomore midfielder, Lawler was named an All-PAC Honorable Mention. Lawler led the Tomcats in goals (31) and points (47). He was also second on the team with 16 assists. He ranked eighth in the PAC in goals, and ninth in the PAC in points. Lawler finished 10th in the conference in goals per game (2.38) and seventh in the conference in points per game (3.62).
A junior defenseman, Alcegaire was named an All-PAC Honorable Mention. Alcegaire led the Tomcats with 26 caused turnovers.. He also ranked ninth in the conference with 1.92 caused turnovers per game. Alcegaire also picked up 37 ground balls.
Senior attacker Pat Hartnett was named to the Sportsmanship Team. Hartnett tallied 36 points (14g, 22a) to go along with 31 ground balls.