MEADVILLE, Pa. – Visiting Grove City College handed the Gators their first home loss of the 2018 season, defeating Allegheny 17-4 in a Monday matinee at the Robertson Athletic Complex.
In the first matchup of the local non-conference rivals in eight years, the Wolverines (13-18) totaled 18 hits and drew 11 walks off of eight Allegheny (15-19) pitchers to cruise to the win. Conversely, the Allegheny offense managed just five hits, while the Gator defense committed five errors.
Grove City scored one run on four walks in the top of the first, added a single tally in the third inning, and broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead.
The Gators answered to cut the deficit in half with three runs in the home half of the fourth, with an RBI double from
Cullen Flaherty down the right field line and a two-run single to left center by
Luke Chutko.
After the Wolverines scored one run on three hits in the top of the fifth, the Gators countered with a single tally in the bottom half, as
Tommy Cannon doubled with two outs and scored in an RBI single from
Tyler Wagner to close the gap to 7-4.
From there, the visitors pulled away, scoring 10 runs over the final four frames, while limiting the Gators to just one base runner over the span, a Wagner hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the eighth.
Cannon, Wagner, Flaherty, Chutko, and
Ethan Pawlak accounted for the five Allegheny hits, while Cannon drew a pair of walks and stole a base.
Nick Kempa started and took the loss, starting and working a third of an inning, giving up one run on four walks, a first inning deficit from which the Gators would never recover.
Nine different players accounted for Grove City's 18 hits, with Anthony Hamilton, Tanner Orner, Travis Auth, and Bob Abbott each stroking three hits apiece. Micah Burke had two hits and three RBIs, while Austin Whacker, the second pitcher of the day for the wolverines, earned the win, allowing three runs on four hits in four innings of work, striking out three.
The Gators will now continue their busy final week of the regular season with a pivotal North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader with Kenyon on Wed. May 2 at 12 noon at the Robertson Athletic Complex. The Gators head into the penultimate NCAC series of the season two games behind the Lords for the fourth and final conference tournament berth.
