Baseball Drops SLIAC Tournament Title Game
Published: April 13, 2021
HIGHLAND, Ill. -- A season that saw the baseball team record its most victories since 2010 concluded Saturday with a 12-4 loss to Webster in the championship game of the SLIAC tournament.
Webster took control of the game early, knocking around Panther starting pitcher C.J. Opp for five runs in one inning of work. Dillon Reel pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing three runs. Jason Collingwood threw 2 2/3 innings, limiting Webster to one run, and Michael Wittmer came in to throw the sixth and seventh innings and permitted two runs. Nick Bifano closed the game for Greenville with a scoreless eighth inning.
Trailing 10-0 after three innings, Greenville got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth when senior Hunter Bryan capped his career with a home run.
Greenville added another tally in the seventh when Dathan Berning's sacrifice fly plated Dalton McFarland.
The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the eighth when Jared Storment's RBI single scored Tim Osborne, and a double play groundout by Tyler Whitworth allowed Trevor Montgomery to cross home safely.
Webster built their lead back up to eight with two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
The Panther bats were silent in the ninth as they were retired in order.
Four Panthers recorded multiple hits in the game as Montgomery posted three hits and a trio of Panthers including Storment, McFarland, and Dylan Bone had two hits.
Following the game, three Panthers were named to the All-Tournament team.
Bifano threw 5 2/3 innings spread over three appearances, recording a win and a save. He gave up one run and four hits to accrue an ERA of 1.59 and opponents batting average of .235.
Tyler Pilcher went 1-0 as he pitched a semifinal win over Spalding on Friday night. He gave up one run on five hits and struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings.
Tim Osborne posted a .357 batting average, knocking two home runs and driving in seven runs. Two of hit five hits were doubles, and he also scored five runs.
The SLIAC tournament championship game appearance was Greenville's fifth in 10 seasons.
