Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The Grinnell College baseball team extended their winning streak to five games after an 8-6 victory in game one of a doubleheader against Greenville College on Tuesday.  The Panthers halted that streak in game two, winning 10-1. 
 
In the opening game, Grinnell (5-2) scored five quick runs in the first inning and never trailed again.  In that first frame, the Greenville (4-12) starter got the first two hitters out but the next seven Pioneers reached base, scoring all five runs with two outs.  The biggest blows came from two-run singles by Matt Hammond '17 and Michael Slattery '18. 
 
Starting pitcher John Essig '16 threw 5 1/3 innings, striking out three and allowing only three hits for the win in his first start of 2016.  Shane Comiskey '18 and Matt Godinsky '16 finished the game for the Pioneers out of the bullpen.  Godinsky is credited with his first save of the season.
 
Essig on his performance, "(Catcher) Matt Hammond and I went into the game with the approach to attack hitters.  My curveball was working consistently as long as I was able to get out in front with it and they seemed to be taking it for strikes.  The only times I got into trouble were when the fastball was left up in the zone."
 
From the Pioneers perspective, game two was an example of "all that could go wrong did".  Noah Mathews '17 got his first start of the year and deserved a fate much better than he received.  He finished with 3 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out three Panthers.   
 
Despite the solid pitching, Greenville opened up a late lead due to some not-too-uncommon baseball occurrences.  A rundown between third base and home that would have ended the inning instead resulted in a dropped tag and another run.  A relatively harmless fly ball fell between two Pioneer defenders leading to another two runs.  This allowed Greenville to keep adding to their run total, expanding a 3-1 third inning lead into a 10-1 final. 
 
Essig, the senior right-hander on life as a pitcher, especially in the Florida grind.  "The downtime is tough to overcome.  Keeping the team energy is very important.  Catcher Julian Cabrera '19 and I are the big leaders in supporting the rest of the team even when we aren't playing." 
 
Grinnell takes the field in the Florida sun for the fourth straight day on Wednesday against Benedictine (IL).  Game time is set for 11:00am EST.