WASHINGTON, Pa. -- In an early-season meeting of the two unbeaten President's Athletic Conference (PAC) baseball teams, the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team defeated Grove City in two tightly contested games at Ross Memorial Park on Saturday.
 
The Presidents move to 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in PAC play while Grove City moves to 4-2 overall, 3-1 in league play. The first game on Saturday counted towards the league standings while the second game did not.
 
Game 1 - W&J 4, Grove City 2
 
The Presidents handed Grove City their first conference loss of the season as a three-run seventh inning proved to be the difference in a 4-2 W&J win.
 
Both starting pitchers turned in strong outings. Henry Litman (Marietta, Ga./Walton) kept Grove City off the scoreboard for the first five innings and allowed just one run in six innings of work. He scattered five hits and recorded seven strikeouts and one walk in his second win of the season.
 
The Presidents struck first in the bottom of the first against Grove City's Tate Ostrowski as Adam Morris (South Park, Pa./South Park) smacked a two out single down the right field line to plate Evan Sante (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum).
 
Ostrowski would keep the President bats at bay for the next five innings and Grove City tied the game at one in the top of the sixth. The Wolverines struck back with a two out RBI single of their own before Litman retired stranded a pair of Grove City runners with a groundout back to the pitcher.
 
Grove City took advantage of a W&J miscue to take a 2-1 lead in the seventh. The Wolverines threatened to get more with runners on first and third with two outs, but Kamden Kautz (Oro Valley, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge) was able to coax a flyout to end the half inning.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) walked and Nate Rush (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) singled Horvat to third. Horvat scored on a Sante groundout to third. Peter Kalinski (Washington, D.C./Saint John's College) smacked a two-out single through the right side of the infield to plate Rush and give W&J a 3-2 advantage. Kalinski stole second and came around and scored on an RBI double by Morris that put the Presidents ahead 4-2.
 
Michael Zito (Nashville, Tenn./Hume-Fogg) earned a six out save for the Presidents as he didn't allow a hit and posted a pair of strikeouts.
 
Morris led the President bats with two of W&J's six hits, drove in a pair of runs and doubled. The Presidents also walked six times and were hit by a pitch twice.
 
Game 2 - W&J 7, Grove City 6 (8 innings)
 
Much like the Presidents' non-conference win over Bethany, the Presidents dug themselves out of an early hole to come back and win, this time in extra innings.
 
Grove City scored two runs in the top of the first and two more in the second inning to lead 4-0.
 
The Presidents scored a pair of run in the bottom of the second inning as a two out double by Jameson Campbell (Painesville, Ohio/Painesville Riverside) plated Trevor Dean (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) and Alec Jackson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson).
 
W&J added an unearned run in the fourth and tied the game with a Luke Virag (New Kensington, Pa./Burrell) RBI single to score Sante in the fifth.
 
Morris led off the bottom of the sixth with a pinch hit go-ahead solo home run.
 
With W&J leading 5-4 into the seventh inning, Grove City extended the game with a two-out, game tying single in the top of the inning. The Presidents were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, so the teams continued to play into the eighth.
 
In the eighth, Grove City took advantage of an error and wild pitch to bunt home a go-ahead run to lead 6-5.
 
Kalinski led off the bottom of the eighth with a pinch hit single and Horvat replaced him on the base paths. Horvat advance to third on a wild pitch and after a walk to Morris, Horvat scored on an errant pickoff throw to first base to tie the game.
 
Morris advanced to third on the error and scored the game-winning run as Dean chopped a ball to third base and Morris raced home to give the Presidents a 7-6 victory.
 
The Presidents used seven different pitchers in the eight inning win. Kautz earned the win after navigating the final two out of the eighth.
 
Cameron Hayman (Windsor, Calif./Windsor) threw two scoreless innings. Mason Kolbe (Bradenton, Fla./Out-of-Door Academy) and Ryan Rametta (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) each tossed a scoreless frame.
 
The Presidents earned the win despite getting outhit 14-5. Morris homered and scored twice. Campbell drove in two runs with his double.
 
 
The Presidents head to Grove City Monday to wrap up their four-game series with the Wolverines with a nine-inning and seven-inning game.