Greenville, Pa. (April 2, 2009) -- In their first match up against a PAC opponent, the Thiel College softball team dropped both games to the Titans of Westminster, 2-4 and 4-5.

After falling behind in the first inning, Thiel fought and clawed their way back into the contest, knotting things up at two runs in the top of the fifth inning.  But, the very next inning saw Westminster answer back with two more runs to take the first game.

Stephanie Smith (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) was one of the few bright spots for the Tomcats after going 3-for-4 and scoring one run.  Pitcher, Emily Batiz (Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg Area), went six innings, striking out a season-high seven batters while giving up four earned runs and four hits in the losing effort.

Thiel committed five errors to Westminster's two.

Game two saw the Titans jump out to five run lead in the top of the first, causing the Tomcats to bring in all-PAC pitcher, Elise Moore (Apollo, PA/Kiski), to stop the bleeding, and she didn't disappoint.  Moore pitched six shutout innings in relief, striking out four and allowing only four hits.  

With Moore on the mound, the Tomcats started picking up momentum on the offensive end scoring three runs in the third bringing the game within two.  In the bottom of the seventh, a Smith double brought Melissa Rankin (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bentworth) around to score, bringing Thiel within one run of lead, with the tying run in scoring position.  But, Thiel just couldn't capitalize and left the runner stranded on second base to end the game.

Rankin led the Tomcats offensively with two hits and two RBI's, while Smith provided a hit and a RBI in the loss.