Box Score With an 8-5 victory over Keuka College on Easter Sunday, the Pioneer baseball team concluded their Spring Break trip in Florida with an 8-2 record, 9-3 overall. 
 
Anthony Mack '16 delivered the big blow with an inside-the-park grand slam in the 5^th inning to break a 3-3 tie and put Grinnell ahead for good.  How rare is the inside-the-park grand slam?  In the past 50 years of Major League Baseball, the feat has only happened 28 times, or once every 8,000 games or so. 
 
Mack on his unique accomplishment, "I had been going through a slump and was just trying to simplify my swing.  I had no idea the left fielder didn't catch the ball until I was halfway to second base.  The umpire didn't signal anything so I looked up and Coach Cooprider was at third base waving me around.  He didn't tell me to stop so I just kept running."
 
Mack's four-RBI swing was the critical moment but the Pioneers sustained a number of body blows to the Wolfpack throughout the game.  They combined for 11 hits, including a two-run home run in the third by Matt Godinsky '16, his first of the year.  Ryan Penaflor '16 had three hits while Sam Galanek '18 and Benjamin Wong '18 each had two. 
 
John Essig '16 got the start on the mound and delivered a solid seven innings of five-hit baseball.  He only allowed one earned run while striking out three Keuka (4-5) hitters.  Christian Baumann '18 and Jay Goldsher '18 formed the bridge to Godinsky who struck out one in his 9^th inning performance.
 
The Pioneers travel back to Iowa on Monday and host five games later this week.  Simpson College travels east to Pioneer Park on Thursday while Washington University – St. Louis comes to town for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday.