WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Allegheny College baseball team was held scoreless in the second game of the 2024 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament, as the Gators dropped a 6-0 decision to Grove City College on a rainy Thursday night at Ross Memorial Park.

The Gators (26-14) were at the mercy of a Grove City (26-12) pitching staff that has yet to allow a run in 18 innings at the PAC Tournament. On Thursday, the Wolverines received a career outing from junior David Leslie, who struck out 10 in 7.0 shutout innings. Allegheny managed only three hits and one additional base runner via a free pass but was unable to catch up to Leslie's low-90s fastball.

Senior southpaw Brent Herrmann (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) was tagged with the loss on the mound for the Gators. Herrmann, who was charged with all six runs, was subbed out after giving up three consecutive base hits to start the fifth.

The Allegheny bullpen, however, did not allow a run after the fifth inning. Walker Cunningham (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) was the first to toe the rubber in relief and completed the fifth. Preston Pierce (Camano Island, Wash./Stanwood) had the longest relief outing with 2.2 innings. Tai Hopkins (Meadville, Pa./Cathedral Prep) struck out the only batter he faced to end the eighth, and William DeCicco III (Fairview Park, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) worked around two base hits for a scoreless top of the ninth.

The game was not only delayed by more than an hour from its originally-scheduled 6:00 p.m. first pitch, but precipitation also paused action in the eighth inning. 

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny was held off the scoreboard with three hits and one walk.
• Ryan Dougherty (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and Matt Jennings (Birmingham, Mich./Brother Rice) both were 1-for-4 from the top of the lineup.
• Anthony Maslo (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) entered off the bench and got a pinch-hit single in the eighth.
• On the other hand, the top five batters in the Grove City lineup had multiple hits.
• Markus Williams led all players with a 4-for-5 performance.
• Herrmann surrendered six runs on nine hits and one strikeout for the Gators.
• Leslie allowed two hits and struck out 10 in 7.0 innings for the Wolverines.

News and Notes

• Jennings extended his hit streak to 33 games with a single in the bottom of the first inning.
• Jennings has reached base in 41 consecutive games, tied for the 19th-longest on-base streak in Division III history.
• Herrmann eclipsed 150 career innings on the mound in his 34th game as a Gator.
• DeCicco completed his seventh scoreless appearance in nine games out of the bullpen this spring.

Up Next
Allegheny will face Westminster College in an elimination game on Friday, May 10, at 12:00 p.m. at Washington and Jefferson College's Ross Memorial Park in Washington, Pennsylvania.