WASHINGTON, Pa. – The No. 18 Washington & Jefferson baseball team could not hold off a late Grove City rally, falling to the Wolverines 6-4 in the winner's bracket game on day two of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament on Friday, May 12.
 
With the game tied at two runs per side entering the fifth inning, Adam LaRue (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) walked with one out and proceeded to steal second to put himself in scoring position for batter Derek Helbing (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial). On the 0-2 pitch, Helbing ripped his team-leading 10th home run of the season over the left field fence and into the W&J bullpen to give the Presidents a 4-2 lead.
 
The Wolverines failed to score in the bottom of the fifth but were able to get their first two batters on base in the sixth before Andy Fritz hit a three-run home run to give Grove City its first lead of the day, 5-4
 
Grove City capped the scoring in the game in the bottom of the seventh with one run on two hits.
 
The Presidents got on the board in the first inning when Frank Fortunato (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) laced a two-out double to left-center field to plate Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), who reached on a single.
 
After Grove City tied the game in the bottom of the first, the Presidents regained the lead in the fourth inning when Mark Merlino (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) singled through the left side, bringing Nick Gatins (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) in to score from second base.
 
Ryan Sciullo (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) finished 3-for-4 at the plate, including a double, while Vento contributed two hits in five at-bats with a run scored. Helbing's home run in the fourth inning tied him with Frank Quirin (2010) for the third most home runs in a single season in program history.
 
Trevor Kerr (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville) (5-4) took the loss on the mound for W&J after giving up five runs in 5.0+ innings of work to go along with two strikeouts. Ben Marsico (Bradfordwoods, Pa./North Allegheny) recorded the final nine outs in relief, allowing just one earned run on three hits and two punch outs.
 
The Presidents will play again tonight at 6:00 p.m. and will face Thomas More in an elimination game with a spot in the PAC Championship round on the line.