Baseball advances to SLIAC championship game
The baseball team defeated Webster 4-3 on Friday afternoon to advance to the SLIAC championship game for the third consecutive season and eliminate the Gorloks from the SLIAC tournament for the first time in GC's history.
GREENVILLE, Ill. -- The baseball team defeated Webster 4-3 on Friday afternoon to advance to the SLIAC championship game for the third consecutive season and eliminate the Gorloks from the SLIAC tournament for the first time in GC's history.
Greenville and Webster have locked horns in championship games on five previous occasions with Webster winning them all. However, in the last two SLIAC tournaments, Greenville has reversed their fortunes against Webster, going 2-1 against the Gorloks before delivering Webster's knockout blow this season.
The Panthers advanced to Saturday's championship game against Westminster for the second straight season. Greenville defeated Westminster 3-0 in a deciding game last spring to go to their first NCAA tournament.
The Panthers took a third inning lead 1-0 with Danny Strohm's home run to left field.
Greenville added three runs in the top of the fourth with an RBI double from Shane Olmsted and RBI singles from middle infielders Strohm and Jesse Getz.
Webster posted three tallies in the bottom of the fifth to tighten the game. C.J. Opp inherited a bases loaded, zero out situation but limited the damage to three runs.
Opp, the game's winning pitcher, threw three scoreless innings of relief with three walks and two strikeouts.
Jason Collingwood earned the save with two scoreless innings. The tying run reached third base in the eighth and ninth innings, but Collingwood buckled down to end Webster's rally in both innings.
Trevor Montgomery, Dathan Berning, and Strohm all had two hits for Greenville.
The Panthers improved their record to 23-20.