BETHANY, WV (May 7, 2010) – The Thiel College softball team came up short against the Bethany Bison in the first round of the PAC Tournament, falling, 4-3, on Friday.

The Bison were the first to register marks on the scoreboard, tallying two runs in the bottom of the first inning, putting the Tomcats in a, 2-0, hole.

The Tomcat offense would roar back in the top of the third, however, scoring three runs of their own, with Stephanie Smith (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny), Elise Moore (Apollo, PA/Kiski), and Emily Batiz (Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg Area) all tallying RBI's in the inning.  The scores gave the Tomcats a 3-2 lead, with Batiz performing brilliantly from the mound.

After the giving up those two runs in the first, the Leechburg, Pa. native went on to pitch five shutout innings, while allowing a mere three hits, before sophomore pitcher, Kristen Moreland (Dover, Ohio/Dover), was brought in for the seventh inning to close the door.

But, the number one seeded Bison offense had a few more tricks up their sleeve, scoring on a sacrifice fly to tie the score, and then bringing in the game winning run with an RBI single.

With the loss, the Tomcats are headed to the loser's bracket of the double elimination tournament to face the loser of the Westminster, Thomas More game.  The Tomcats will return to action at 3 p.m. today.