Grove City 6, Franciscan 5  - 7 Innings
 
Franciscan Lineup
Patrick Wallace 2B, Austin Horan CF, Chris Furka SS, Joshua Costello 1B, Kyle Ferrance RF, Declan Peterson 3B, Brendan Burke C, Joshua Speaker DH, Noah Smith LF & Pitching - Ryan Neely

Grove City Lineup
Clary LF, Tambellini RF, Saylor C, Hamilton 1B, Abott 2B, Orner DH, Baccari SS, Lew 3B, Knauer CF & Pitching - Ostrowski
 
How It Happened
The Franciscan Baseball team's seventh inning rally fell just short, losing game one of their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader by a score of 6-5. 

It was a pitchers duel early with Franciscan Ryan Neely taking on Grove City ace Tate Ostrowski. In the second inning Kyle Ferrance would get the Barons first hit, smashing a single up the middle. After a walk by Declan Peterson and a fielders choice, Ferrance would advance to third, but the Barons could not plate the run. Grove City would get a double to right field to lead off the top of third inning, but Ryan Neely would get a pair of strikes out and pop up to get out of the jam. 

Franciscan's offense continue to put pressure on the Wolverines in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Patrick Wallace and Austin Horan delivered back-to-back singles to put runners on base. Chris Furka would draw a walk to load the bases for Joshua Costello. During Costello's at bat, a wild pitch allowed Wallace to score from third. Costello would then come through for the Barons, smashing a fly ball into center field, allowing Horan to tag and score putting Franciscan a 2-0 lead.

Neely would cruise through the fourth and fifth innings, but Grove City would strike in the top of the sixth inning when Anthony Tambellini led off the inning with a homerun off the left field foul pole. Later in the inning, the Wolverines would capitalize on a Barons error, scoring five more runs to take a 6-2 lead.


The Barons would try to rally back in the bottom of the seventh inning. Wallace led off with a single into right field and  Horan would draw a walk, causing a pitching change for Grove City. Franciscan would attack the relief pitcher Nick Guidas, with Furka roping a double off the left field fence scoring Wallace. Costello would then follow with a double of his own to left field, this time scoring Horan and Furka to pull the Barons with in a run. The Barons could not plate another run, falling 6-5. 

At the Plate
- Austin Horan was 2-3 at the plate, smashing two singles into left field and scoring a run
- Kyle Ferrance was also 2-3, with a pair of singles
- Patrick Wallace was 2-4 scoring a run on a wild pitch in the third inning
- Chris Furka had a RBI double in the seventh inning
- Joshua Costello recorded three RBIs including a 2 RBI double in the seventh inning
- Declan Peterson and Joshua Speaker each recorded a hit
  
On the Mound
- Starter Ryan Neely pitched 5.2 innings allowing six runs, two earned, allowing seven hits while striking out five batters
- Josh Speaker came on in relief, getting the Barons out of a jam in the sixth inning
- Austin Horan pitched the final inning

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Grove City 11, Franciscan 7 - 9 Innings
 
Franciscan Lineup
Patrick Wallace 2B, Austin Horan CF, Chris Furka SS, Joshua Costello 1B, Kyle Ferrance LF, Declan Peterson 3B, Brendan Burke C, Joshua Speaker DH, James Becker RF & Pitching - Jacob Watson

Grove City Lineup
Clary LF, Tambellini RF, Saylor 3B, Hamilton 1B, Abbott 2B, Orner C, Baccari SS, Flaming DH, Jenks CF, and Pitching - Pry

How It Happened
Franciscan could not shake off a slow start, falling in game two of their PAC doubleheader with Grove City by a score of #-#

After allowing three runs in the top of the first inning, Franciscan would quickly answer back. Patrick Wallace and Austin Horan led off the inning by drawing walks. Chris Furka would then launch a three run home run over the left field fence, tying the game at three. 

After the explosive start to the game, both starting pitchers settled in keeping the score at 3-3 heading to the fourth inning. Grove City would capitalize on three Franciscan errors in the fourth inning to score four runs and take a 7-3 lead. The Barons chipped away at Grove City's lead, scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning. Wallace led off the inning, crushing a double off the right center field fence. Horan followed with an RBI single to left field making the score 7-4. With two outs in the inning, Kyle Ferrance launched a double off the right field fence, plating Horan and bringing the Barons back within two runs. 

Grove City would answer back, scoring runs in the sixth and seventh inning to take a 11-5 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Joshua Costello would smack an RBI double into right field, scoring Furka. The Barons would eventually work the bases loaded, with Costello scoring on a pass ball to pull the Barons back within four. 

The Barons would get final chance in the bottom of the seventh inning. Costello would single and Ferrance would work a walk to put runners on base. Declan Peterson would smash his first career home run over the left field fence. Joshua Speaker would then follow with a double into right center field to put the tying run on second with just one out. Pinch runner Noah Smith would swipe third base

At the Plate
- Chris Furka was 1-4 smashing a three-run home run in the first inning
- Patrick Wallace went  2-3, with a double and scoring 2 runs
- Austin Horan went 1-4, scoring once with an RBI single in the fifth inning
- Kyle Ferrance drove in a run with an RBI double in the fifth inning
- Joshua Costello delivered an RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning
- Declan Peterson launched his first homerun of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning
  
On the Mound
- Starter Jacob Watson pitched 4.0 innings allowing seven runs, three earned on six hits while striking out two
- Brody Hynes came in relief, pitching 2.0 innings allow just one run
- John Pennefather allowed three runs in 0.2 innings of action
- Samuel Tyler pitched 2.1 innings, allowing no runs

Up Next
Franciscan will travel to Saint Vincent to play game three of their series with the Bearcats at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday April 14. Franciscan won game one at home by a score of 4-3, before falling 16-14 in game number two. 

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