SLIPPERY ROCK — Randy Risch pounded the strike zone.

When the Slippery Rock High hitters made contact, they usually pounded the baseball into the ground.

Risch, the Grove City High ace, struck out nine, got eight ground ball outs and allowed only three balls out of the infield as the Eagles snagged a 10-1 road win over the Rockets Wednesday.

Risch worked quickly, threw strikes with a variety of pitches and generally made it a tough afternoon for Slippery Rock.

"He's pitched very well," said Grove City coach Pat Forese. "Randy has a good fastball, a good curve, a very good slider and a good changeup. When he's throwing them for strikes, he's very difficult to hit."

Risch took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, but lost it when Slippery Rock's Tyler Little hit a soft, knuckling liner that shortstop Jonny Anderson couldn't corral.

Risch gave up three hits in six innings, taking advantage of the high infield grass at Slippery Rock to get plenty of groundball outs.

Anderson worked the seventh inning to close out the game.

Risch and Anderson have given up just one unearned run in the last three games.

It's little wonder that Grove City (11-2, 5-0) is running away with the region.

"Our pitching has been marvelous this year," Forese said. "As long as our offense stays consistent, we will be OK."

The offense was potent Wednesday.

Grove City typically struggles when it travels to Slippery Rock, and the Eagles scuffled a bit early against Rockets starter Sean White.

But the Eagles touched up White for four runs in the third inning, thanks to a two-run single by Alex Miklos and a two-run double by cleanup hitter Brian Murone.

Grove City scored four more runs in the top of the seventh inning off Slippery Rock relief pitcher Matt Corner.

Forese was just happy to see his team break out of its funk in Slippery Rock.

"For us, for some reason, this is a tough field for us to play on," Forese said. "We've always struggled down here. Slippery Rock always plays well here. We did respond."

First-year Slippery Rock coach Glenn Sharrar said White pitched well against a Grove City lineup stocked with hitters.

"We hung in there," Sharrar said. "The last inning got a little ugly, but (White) pitched well and kept us in it."

Grove City, the defending District 10 champion, has a 2Z\x-game lead in the region.

But Forese said he isn't satisfied.

"I'm happy with our progress," Forese said. "Like I told the kids, though, we have to continue to get better and peak at the end of the season."

Grove City 004 101 4 — 10 10 4Slippery Rock 000 100 0 — 1 3 4W: Randy Risch 6 IP (9 K, 2 BB).

L: Sean White 6 IP (4 K, 1 BB).

Grove City (11-2, 5-0): Alex Miklos 2-1B, 2-RBI; Brian Murone 2B, 3-RBI; Nick Reddick 1B, RBI; Jason Revesz 2-1B, RBI; Pat Johnson 2-1B

Slippery Rock (3-8, 2-3): Tyler Little 2-1B

Friday: Slippery Rock at McDowell

Monday: Commodore Perry at Grove City