GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel College baseball team, winners of four straight and six of their last seven games, enter the 2013 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will take on third-seeded Thomas More College (27-12, 17-7 PAC) at 3 p.m. Thursday. For the second consecutive season the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College (27-11, 18-6 PAC) will host the tournament, which will be played at Ross Memorial Park in Washington, Pa.
 
The Thiel Tomcats (24-16, 17-7 PAC) are returning to the four-team, double elimination conference tournament for the first time since 2009. Thiel also drew Thomas More in the first round in 2009, earning an 11-5 win. The Tomcats went on to play in the conference championship game, where they fell 7-4 to Washington & Jefferson.
 
A number of Tomcat players are having terrific seasons at the plate, led by senior left fielder Eric Steininger (West Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg). A two-time PAC Hitter of the Week, Steininger finished the regular season as the conference hits leader (67). He is tied for the conference lead with 14 doubles and ranks second with a .416 batting average. Steininger also leads the PAC with 85 total bases on the season.  He racked up 24 RBIs on the season, scored 43 runs, stole 14 bases and hit one home run. Steininger produced 24 multi-hit and five multi-RBI games on the season and had a 26-game hitting streak to open the 2013 campaign.
 
Senior designated hitter Jarod Nanna (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh) is hitting .390 with six home runs, which ties him for the conference lead. He also ranks second in the PAC with 43 RBIs. Senior first baseman/pitcher Nick Rossmiller (Butler, Pa./Butler) led the PAC with a .434 batting average. He recorded 27 RBIs and hit four home runs.
 
Not to be overshadowed by the offensive output of the Tomcat offense is the performance of senior right-handed pitchers Rossmiller and Cody Northcott (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton). Rossmiller, who threw the first perfect game in Thiel history this season, enters the tournament ranked fourth in the league in ERA (2.84) and third in strikeouts (52). Northcott has rattled off six straight victories to improve to 8-3 on the season, including a perfect 7-0 record in conference play with an ERA of 4.18. His eight wins stand as the second most in the PAC.
 
The entire 2013 PAC Championship Baseball Tournament will be broadcast live on the PAC Sports Network with local broadcasters Randy Gore and Justin Pyles calling all the action from Washington, Pa. Fans can listen live or on-demand at a later date by visiting the PAC Sports Network website (http://www.pacstream.net/).
 
Additionally, live updates will be available on the official Twitter feed of the Thiel College Athletic Department (@thielathletics).