Baseball Preview: Grove City Eagles vs. Slippery Rock Rockets
Grove City is 2-8 against Slippery Rock since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Grove City Eagles will head out on the road to take on the Slippery Rock Rockets at 5:00 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
It may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Grove City ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-8 victory over Clarion Area.
Ben Fischer was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Fischer was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Ethan Adams was incredible, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. Nolan Renick was another key contributor, going 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Meanwhile, Slippery Rock scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 12-4 margin over Oil City.
Like Grove City, Slippery Rock also got a great game from a two-way player: Isaac McCandless. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. McCandless was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and a triple.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sal Mineo, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. Mineo is crushing it when it comes to stolen bases: he's stolen at least one every time he's taken the field this season. Another player making a difference was Dominic Zandi, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
The win got Grove City back to even at 1-1. As for Slippery Rock, their record is now 3-1.
Grove City couldn't quite finish off Slippery Rock in their previous meeting back in May of 2023 and fell 5-3. Thankfully for Grove City, Nick Kingerski (who pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk)) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
