WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - For the first time since 2008, Grove City College is the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champion in baseball after the second-seeded Wolverines defeated fourth-seeded Westminster College 8-1 in the title game Saturday. The Tournament was played at Ross Memorial Park at Washington & Jefferson College.

The double-elimination Tournament went the full schedule, as Westminster, needing to beat Grove City twice on Saturday to win the championship, forced the If Necessary game with a 5-2 victory in the opening game of the day.

Grove City would use six runs in the opening two innings of the second game to take control and cruise to the win from there. After eliminating the five-time defending PAC champions W&J Friday night to reach the final, the Wolverines' win gives them four conference crowns in program history (2001, 2002, 2008). They also set a new single-season program record for wins with their 31st victory of the year.

In addition, Grove City earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 and just the second time ever. Selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, May 12 with regional preliminary round play slated for Friday-Sunday, May 16-18. The Division III College World Series will be hosted by the North Coast Athletic Conference and Cleveland Sports Commission at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio. 

Game J
No. 4 Westminster 5, No. 2 Grove City 2
The Titans scored three early runs to take the lead and rode the strong pitching tandem of Ryan Gibbons and Kolton Banfi to force the If Necessary game with a 5-2 victory over Grove City.

Westminster went in front in the second inning with a two-run single by Andrew Wolf and a third Titan crossed the plate on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead. 

That margin lasted until the fifth frame when Grove City cut into the deficit. The initial run came on an RBI single by Sam Bevin and he would later score on a wild pitch, trimming the Westminster lead to 3-2.

Westminster tacked a run back on their lead thanks to an error in the bottom of the fifth. After starter Gibbons logged five innings, he gave way to Banfi. who put up zeroes in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Titans would add another insurance run in the seventh on an RBI fielder's choice by Parker Lyons and the game rested in Banfi's hands. He erased a single in the eighth inning with a double play and then closed the game in the ninth, overcoming a two-out single to get a strikeout for the final out and send the Tournament to Game K.

Gibbons earned his second win of the week after allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Banfi picked up the save by throwing four scoreless innings in relief and giving up only three hits while totaling three Ks.

Westminster finished their win with nine hits, three by Braden Zeigler, who also scored a run, as did Quinn Marquis, who had a single and double in the game.

A trio of Wolverines had two hits each, including Bevin, Nick Sampson and Josh Minnich.

Game K
No. 2 Grove City 8, No. 4 Westminster 1
Wolverines' starter Bevin set a tone for the second game immediately, striking out the side in the top of the first. Grove City pounced quickly in the bottom of the first, loading the bases with no outs before Minnich hit a two-run double. The Wolverines plated two more before the inning was complete for a 4-0 advantage.

Bevin helped his own cause with the bat in the second, as he hit a two-run homer to right, which extended the lead to 6-0.

On the mound, Bevin was in control, retiring the first nine batters of the game and only allowing one hit through four. Westminster managed an unearned run in the fifth inning to make it 6-1 and mounted a serious threat in the sixth. The Titans loaded the bases with one out but Bevin induced a pop up and then struck out the next batter to keep the Grove City advantage at 6-1.

The Wolverines capped the scoring with two runs in the seventh, one on an error and the other coming from an RBI infield single from Colin Marinpetro. Bevin finished his stellar outing with a scoreless eighth and turned the game over to David Gallagher in the ninth, who retired the side in order to complete the Wolverines' championship run.

Bevin was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, as he went eight strong innings against Westminster, allowing one unearned run on six hits with five Ks and one walk. In addition to his pitching in the title-clinching victory, he went 10-for-20 in the Tournament with three RBIs and seven runs scored.

Four others from Grove City were named to the All-Tournament Team, including Minnich, Sampson and pitchers David Leslie, who threw a complete-game win against Allegheny Thursday, and Bryce Trischler, who went the distance in the 10-inning victory over W&J.

Westminster, who came one win away from winning their first PAC title since 2012, were led by Logan Murgenovich with two hits in Saturday's second game. Three Titans earned All-Tournament Team accolades, including Gibbons, Marquis and Wolf. The entire All-Tournament Team is linked above. 


2025 PAC Baseball Championship Tournament
All games at Ross Memorial Park - Washington, Pa.

Wednesday, May 7
A - No. 1 Washington & Jefferson 7, No. 6 Thiel 1 - Box Score
B - No. 2 Grove City 10, No. 5 Saint Vincent 3 - Box Score
C - No. 3 Allegheny 4, No. 4 Westminster 1 - Box Score

Thursday, May 8
D - Saint Vincent 15, Thiel 12 (10 innings) - Box Score
E - Westminster 5, W&J 4 - Box Score
F - Grove City 3, Allegheny 1 - Box Score

Friday, May 9
G - W&J 14, Allegheny 1 - Box Score
H - Westminster 3, Saint Vincent 2 - Box Score
I - Grove City 4, W&J 1 (10 innings) - Box Score

Saturday, May 10
J - Westminster 5, Grove City 2 - Box Score
K - Grove City 8, Westminster 1 - Box Score