President's Athletic Conference

W&J rallies to win its 11th PAC baseball title

5/13/2017 7:35:54 PM

WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – Top-seeded and 18th-ranked Washington & Jefferson College posted a pair of convincing 8-1 victories over third-seeded Grove City College in Saturday’s title round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Championship Tournament to claim the program’s 11th league championship.
 
The league’s four-team, double-elimination championship tournament was held at Ross Memorial Park in Washington, Pennsylvania.
 
W&J, serving as the conference tournament host for the first time since finishing a three-year stretch from 2012-14, has now won seven PAC titles under 15th-year head coach Jeff Mountain.
 
With Saturday’s PAC Championship Tournament title, W&J earned the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, with team selections and regional assignments to be announced by the NCAA on Monday, May 15. This year’s appearance in the Division III Championships will be the sixth for the Presidents.

W&J and Ross Memorial Park will serve as hosts of the Division III Baseball Mideast Regional for the third-straight year, with regional preliminary round play scheduled for Thursday-Monday, May 18-22.
 

2017 PAC Baseball All-Tournament Team
Pos.	Name	Yr.	School	Hometown | High School
3B/P	Micah Burke	So.	Grove City	Gilbert, Ariz. | East Valley Athletes for Christ
C	Andy Fritz	Sr.	Grove City	Saxonburg, Pa. | Knoch
1B	Matt Waugaman	Sr.	Grove City	Wexford, Pa. | North Allegheny
CF	Bryan Mitchell	Sr.	Thiel	Cleveland, Ohio | Padua Franciscan
3B	Bailey Abatiello	Sr.	Thomas More	Cincinnati, Ohio | LaSalle
C	Sam Hauer	So.	Thomas More	Cincinnati, Ohio | Elder
C	Derek Helbing	Sr.	W&J	Pataskala, Ohio | Watkins Memorial
2B	Adam LaRue	Sr.	W&J	Imperial, Pa. | West Allegheny
P	Santino Platt	So.	W&J	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
RF	Nick Vento	Sr.	W&J	Murrysville, Pa. | Franklin Regional

 

Saturday, May 13 • Game G

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(3) Grove City vs. (1) W&J

W&J 8, Grove City 1 Box score

W&J senior righty Riley Groves (Louisville, Ohio | Louisville) went 5.0 innings to earn if-necessary game victory. He gave up one run (earned) on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk. It was his 25th career win and third in W&J's four PAC Championship Tournament appearances.  How it happened: • A second inning RBI groundout by freshman designated hitter Matt Dayton (Allison Park, Pa. | Hampton) gave Grove City a 1-0 lead. • W&J responded with a three-run top of the third to grab a 3-1 lead. Senior catcher Derek Helbing (Pataskala, Ohio | Watkins Memorial) and senior designated hitter Frank Fortunato (Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan) each had a sacrifice fly sandwiched around a run-scoring single by senior right fielder Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa. | Franklin Regional). • Junior first baseman Mark Merlino’s (Irwin, Pa. | Penn-Trafford) RBI single in the top of the fourth extended W&J’s lead to 4-1. Helbing launched a solo home run in the fifth that pushed W&J’s lead to 5-1. • Following a LaRue single and Helbing walk to start the seventh, Vento hammered a home run to left to extend the lead to 8-1.  Notables: • Vento finished 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs, one run scored and a stolen base in the if-necessary game win. • Helbing’s fifth-inning home run was his second of the tournament and 11th of the season, which tied him for the league lead. • Senior lefty Tim Mulvey (Glenshaw, Pa. | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) walked one and struck out one in 1.0 inning of relief, setting a new W&J record with 54 career appearances. • Senior right fielder Nolan Myers (Landisville, Pa. | Hempfield) tied Grove City's career record Saturday by playing in his 149th career game. He tied the record set by Butch Kriger from 2008-11. • Grove City turned a 9-2-4-5 triple play in the top of the fourth inning.

 

Saturday, May 13 • Game F

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(3) Grove City vs. (1) W&J

W&J 8, Grove City 1 Box score

Sophomore righty Santino Platt (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) was brilliant for W&J in its 8-1 Game F win over Grove City, allowing just one run (earned) on three hits in 8.1 innings of work. Platt struck out five and walked four during his 116-pitch outing. How it happened: • Senior designated hitter Frank Fortunato (Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan) led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run to give the Presidents a 1-0 lead. Fortunato’s two-out, RBI single in the third capped a three-run frame to extend W&J’s lead to 4-0.   • Grove City scored its first run of the game with two outs in the top of the fifth after a W&J fielding error to trim the Presidents’ lead to 4-1.   • Senior catcher Derek Helbing's (Pataskala, Ohio | Watkins Memorial) sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth pushed W&J ahead 5-1 before junior center fielder Ryan Sciullo’s (Vandergrift, Pa. | Kiski Area) run scoring single in the sixth pushed the lead to 6-1.   • Helbing’s second sacrifice fly of the game gave W&J a 7-1 lead in the seventh before junior first baseman Mark Merlino’s (Irwin, Pa. | Penn-Trafford) RBI single in the eighth closed out the scoring.  Notables: • Saturday’s Game F marked the first-ever meeting between top-seeded W&J and third-seeded Grove City in the title round of the PAC Baseball Championship Tournament. • Senior center fielder Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa. | Franklin Regional) finished 3-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases and a RBI.   • Senior shortstop Nick Gatins (North Royalton, Ohio | North Royalton) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. • Freshman designated hitter Matt Dayton (Allison Park, Pa. | Hampton) had Grove City’s lone extra base hit, a leadoff, ground-rule double in the ninth.

 

Friday, May 12 • Game E

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(2) Thomas More vs. (1) W&J

W&J 10, Thomas More 1 Box score

Junior righty Bryce Schnatterly (Cranberry Township, Pa. | Seneca Valley) scattered four hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 7.0 innings for top-seeded W&J in Friday’s 10-1 elimination game win over second-seeded Thomas More.  With Friday night’s victory, host W&J advances to the title round of the PAC’s Championship Tournament for the 10th-straight season. How it happened: • W&J jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a RBI double by senior right fielder Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa. | Franklin Regional) and run-scoring single by senior shortstop Nick Gatins (North Royalton, Ohio | North Royalton) in the top of the first.   • Senior second baseman Adam LaRue’s (Imperial, Pa. | West Allegheny) two-out, run-scoring single in the top of the seventh pushed W&J’s lead to 3-0.   • Senior third baseman Bailey Abatiello (Cincinnati, Ohio | LaSalle) lifted a liner to center in the bottom of the seventh to score Ben Laumann (Cincinnati, Ohio | Oak Hills) after the junior second baseman led off the inning with a single. Laumann’s base hit was just the second of the game for Thomas More.   • W&J plated a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth before adding five more in the ninth to watch its lead swell to 10-1. Notables: • LaRue led a group of four Presidents with multi-hit games, finishing 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored, a RBI and a stolen base. • With his ninth inning appearance, senior lefty Tim Mulvey (Glenshaw, Pa. | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) tied Eddie Nogay (2011-14) and Dave Trushel (2009-12) for the most career appearances by a W&J pitcher (53). • Junior lefty Brandon Eliadis (Lawrenceburg, Ky. | Anderson County) suffered the loss for the Saints, allowing three runs (1 earned) on six hits with a pair of strikeouts and walk in 7.0 innings.

 

Friday, May 12 • Game D

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(4) Thiel vs. (2) Thomas More

Thomas More 6, Thiel 5 Box score

After falling behind third-seeded Thiel 5-2 through seven innings, second-seeded Thomas More plated four runs in the top of the eighth to pull out a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Tomcats in the championship tournament’s first elimination game.   Thomas More senior third baseman Bailey Abatiello (Cincinnati, Ohio | LaSalle), the first batter to face Thiel junior righty Tanner Teconchuk (North Warren, Pa. | Warren) following the exit of senior starter Kevin Forrester (Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan), laced a two-run single up the middle to pull the Saints to within one, 5-4. Thomas More plated the eventual tying and game-winning runs after a Thiel throwing error later in the frame.  How it happened: • Senior center fielder Casey Metzger (Cincinnati, Ohio | Oak Hills) put Thomas More on the scoreboard in the top of the first, scoring on a fielder’s choice by sophomore catcher Sean Lawrence (Independence, Ky. | Simon Kenton). The Saints extended their lead to 2-0 after Bailey's solo home run in the top of the second. • Junior second baseman Filippo Costanzo (Brunswick, Ohio | Brunswick) cut the Thomas More lead to 2-1 with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the second before a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Nick Grice (McKeesport, Pa. | McKeesport) in the third evened things up at 2-2. • Senior center fielder Bryan Mitchell’s (Cleveland, Ohio | Padua Franciscan) book rule double in the fifth scored sophomore designated hitter Alex Lam (Springboro, Ohio | Springboro) to give the Tomcats a 3-2 lead before junior right fielder Zack Hudecek’s (Gibsonia, Pa. | Deer Lakes) RBI groundout later in the inning pushed Thiel’s lead to 4-2. • Sophomore shortstop Daniel Patrice’s (Munich, Germany | EST) RBI double in the seventh gave the Tomcats a 5-2 lead. • In the top of the eighth, Abatiello smoked a two-run single to pull the Saints to within one, 5-4, before the visitors plated a pair of runs on a Thiel throwing error to take 6-5 lead later in the inning.  Notables: • Abatiello finished 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. • Senior righty Ken Ruberg (Cincinnati, Ohio | LaSalle) logged his 10th save of the season with a clean ninth inning. • Forrester went 7.0 innings in the no-decision, allowing five runs (4 earned) on seven hits with six strikeouts and three walks. • Patrice and Lam had two hits apiece for Thiel.

 

Friday, May 12 • Game C

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(3) Grove City at (1) W&J

Grove City 6, W&J 4 Box score

Senior catcher Andy Fritz (Saxonburg, Pa. | Knoch) delivered the go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to help send third-seeded Grove City to a 6-4 win over top-seeded W&J Friday afternoon. Grove City’s victory secures a spot in Saturday’s title round for the first time since claiming the league title in 2008. Sophomore righty Micah Burke (Gilbert, Ariz. | East Valley Athletes for Christ) picked up the win, allowing four runs (4 earned) on nine hits with three walks in 6.1 innings.  How it happened: • Following a two-out single by senior center fielder Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa. | Franklin Regional), senior third baseman Frank Fortunato (Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan) drilled a two-out, RBI double to left center to stake W&J to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Grove City senior first baseman Matt Waugaman (Wexford, Pa. | North Allegheny) blasted a two-out solo home run down the right field line in the bottom of the frame to even things up at 1-1.   • Junior first baseman Mark Merlino’s (Irwin, Pa. | Penn-Trafford) two-out, RBI single in the top of the fourth pushed the Presidents ahead, 2-1. Senior shortstop David Laylock’s (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Pine-Richland) two-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the inning evened things up at 2-2.   • W&J senior catcher Derek Helbing (Pataskala, Ohio | Watkins Memorial) drilled a two-run home run in the top of the fifth to give the Presidents a 4-2 advantage.   • Senior catcher Andy Fritz (Saxonburg, Pa. | Knoch) delivered a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to push Grove City ahead, 5-4. Sophomore left fielder Travis Auth (Medina, Ohio | Medina) poked a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to extend the Wolverines’ lead to two, 6-4. Notables: • Grove City freshman righty Austin Wacker (Mechanicsburg, Pa. | Cumberland Valley) recorded his fourth save of the season in the win, allowing just one hit while striking out a pair in 2.2 innings of work.  • Waugaman went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, a home run, two runs scored and a RBI.  • Laylock finished 2-for-3 with a walk and a RBI.

 

Thursday, May 11 • Game B

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(3) Grove City vs. (2) Thomas More

Grove City 8, Thomas More 7 Box score

Senior catcher Andy Fritz (Saxonburg, Pa. | Knoch) drove in the eventual game-winning run in the top of the ninth with a two-out, RBI single to give Grove City an 8-7 opening-round win over Thomas More. Sophomore righty Phil Bell (Poland, Ohio | Heartland Christian) improved to 4-1 this season with the win. He tossed the final 2.0 innings for the Wolverines, allowing just one hit while striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth. How it happened: • Sophomore catcher Sam Hauer (Cincinnati, Ohio | Elder) staked Thomas More to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after his two-run single plated junior shortstop Ben Laumann (Cincinnati, Ohio | Oak Hills) and senior center fielder Casey Metzer (Cincinnati, Ohio | Oak Hills). • Senior third baseman Bailey Abbatiello (Cincinnati, Ohio | LaSalle) drilled a one out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the fourth to push the Saints lead to 3-0.   • Sophomore second baseman Bobby Dulay (Youngstown, Ohio | Ursuline) reached on a fielder's choice in the top of the third that scored senior right fielder Nolan Myers (Landisville, Pa. | Hempfield) for Grove City’s first run of the game. Sophomore third baseman Micah Burke (Gilbert, Ariz. | East Valley Athletes for Christ) singled up the middle to score Dulay and freshman designated hitter Matt Dayton (Allison Park, Pa. | Hampton) to even things up at 3-3 later in the inning.     • Metzer gave the Saints a 4-3 lead with a one-out, RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, scoring junior designated hitter Tanner Wolfe (Cincinnati, Ohio | New Richmond) after his single to left. Following a two-out, bases-loaded walk by Grove City sophomore righty John Bini (Staten Island, N.Y. | Xaverian) plated Metzer, Hauer drilled a two-run single up the middle to extend Thomas More’s lead to 7-3.   • After Burke led off the top of the eighth with a single, he scored on a sacrifice fly by Fritz to pull Grove City to within three, 7-4.  • In the top of the ninth, senior first baseman Matt Waugaman’s (Wexford, Pa. | North Allegheny) RBI single brought Grove City to within one, 7-6, before Burke scored on a throwing error to pull even at 7-7. Fritz smacked a two-out, run-scoring single to give the Wolverines an 8-7 lead going into the bottom of the frame.  Notables: • Burke finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored for Grove City. • Hauer went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for Thomas More. • Thomas More senior righty Logan Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio | LaSalle) went 8.0 innings, allowing four runs (4 earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks.

 

Thursday, May 11 • Game A

Washington, Pa. | Ross Memorial Park

(4) Thiel at (1) W&J

W&J 9, Thiel 8 (10 inn.) Box score

Sophomore left fielder Dante Dalesandro (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Mount Lebanon) bounced into a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 10th, plating sophomore pinch runner Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio | St. Ignatius) and giving top-seeded W&J a 9-8 extra innings win over fourth-seeded Thiel to open play at this year’s PAC Championship Tournament.   Senior Derek Helbing (Pataskala, Ohio | Watkins Memorial) earned the win, allowing one hit in 2.0 innings of relief. Helbing, who started the day behind the plate, went 2-for-5 with a RBI.   How it happened: • Thiel posted runs in the first and second to grab a 2-0 lead before W&J struck for three in the bottom of the second, keyed by two-out, run-scoring singles by Helbing and senior right fielder Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa. | Franklin Regional). • Thiel registered a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings to jump in front of W&J 6-3. Following a RBI single from junior first baseman Jake Marino (Pittsfield, Pa. | Youngsville) in the third, junior right fielder Zach Hudecek (Gibsonia, Pa. | Deer Lake) roped a run-scoring double down the left field line before a sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Daniel Patrice (Munich, Germany | EST) scored senior center fielder Bryan Mitchell (Cleveland, Ohio | Padua Franciscan). • Trailing 7-4 midway through the seventh, W&J rattled off four runs in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by a two-out, two-run double by junior first baseman Mark Merlino (Irwin, Pa. | Penn-Trafford). • Mitchell’s solo home run in the top of the eighth evened the score at 8-8. Notables: • Thiel's Mitchell started the day with five-straight hits before fouling out in the 10th. He finished 5-for-6 with a RBI and three runs scored. • Thiel sophomore righty Nick Bucci (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Allderdice) threw 129 pitches in his 6.2 inning no-decision. He allowed eight runs (6 earned) on nine hits while walking six and striking out four. • W&J senior righty Riley Groves (Louisville, Ohio | Louisville) went 4.0 innings in his no-decision, allowing six runs (3 earned) on 10 hits. He struck out five during the 81-pitch outing.   • Merlino went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs, two runs and a walk.