GROVE CITY, PA. (May 1, 2010) – The Thiel College softball team rallied back in the final two innings of game one against Grove City College to win, 5-3, clinching the fourth seed in the PAC Tournament.  They then picked up the game two victory, 5-2, for good measure. 

Grove City struck first in game one when Carolyn Vaeth connected on a two-run single in the bottom of the second inning, putting the Tomcats down, 2-0.  The Wolverines stretched their lead to three runs in the fifth, with an RBI single by Amanda Sheppeck.

TheTomcats refused to go down gently, however, as a Melissa Rankin (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bentworth) double, and an Elise Moore (Apollo, PA/Kiski) single, set the table for game one pitcher, Emily Batiz (Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg Area), to spark a comeback. And spark one she did, as she stroked a triple to the outfield fence, bringing home Kelly Muffley (Salsburg, Pa./Western Reserve Academy) and Shea Maier (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro), who pinch ran for Rankin and Moore.  Two batters later, Madison Chylik (Cuyahoga Falls, OH/Valley View) brought home Batiz on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at three.

After Batiz made short work of the Wolverines in the bottom of the sixth, senior, Stephanie Smith (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny), reached base on a fielder choice, with Rankin approaching the batter's box.  Rankin would go on to emphatically stamp Thiel's ticket to the PAC tournament, with a two-run home run.

Batiz was the winning pitcher, going seven complete innings, while allowing two earned runs on six hits. 

Rankin led the Thiel offense, going 3-for-4 with a double, to go along with the go-ahead home run.  The junior catcher also tallied two RBIs and a run scored.