DAVENPORT, Fla. -- Grove City College junior pitcher Nick Guidas (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) fired a nine-inning perfect game Thursday morning to help lead the Wolverines to a 6-0 win over Illinois College in non-conference action at Northeast Regional Park. 

The 6-foot-2 southpaw struck out a career-high 14 men and needed only 105 pitches to retire all 27 batters. He struck out eight of the last nine batters, striking out the side in both the seventh and ninth innings. Guidas threw 76 strikes and only 29 balls. Only two balls put in play against Guidas left the infield -- a pair of fly outs to freshman center fielder Nick Sampson (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township).

It is the first perfect game for Grove City since current senior Tate Ostrowski (Essex, Mass./Covenant Christian) retired all 21 Bethany hitters April 23, 2021 in an 8-0, seven-inning victory. Four years ago, Lake Pry struck out 13 men in a mercy rule-shortened eight-inning no-hitter in Florida against Penn State New Kensington.

Thursday, Grove City (8-3) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when sophomore second baseman Luke Vittone (Seven Fields, Pa./Eden Christian) singled in sophomore third baseman Shane Cato (New Castle, Pa./Shenango). The lead grew to 3-0 in the sixth inning when Cato's two-run single brought home sophomore DH Josh Minnich (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and senior catcher C.J. Saylor (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield).

The Wolverines broke open the game with three more runs in the eighth inning. Minnich scored on Vittone's bases-loaded walk. Sampson then roped a two-run double that scored junior shortstop Lucca Baccari (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) and freshman right fielder Andrew Seest (Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins). 

Minnich also doubled for the Wolverines. Vittone reached base in all four of his plate appearances with a single and three walks. 

Grove City (8-3 overall) is now 6-0 on its Florida trip. The Wolverines will face Mount Union at 1 p.m. Friday.