Box Score BETHANY, W.Va. – Sophomore left fielder Bryan Mitchell (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second, but it wasn't enough for the Thiel College baseball team, which lost a 12-11 Presidents' Athletic Conference game to the Bethany College Bison Sunday in 10 innings at Bethany Park.

Thiel scored runs in five of the first six innings, including two big innings of three or more runs, but Bethany countered with two runs in the third and eight more in the sixth to prevail in a wild rubber game that lasted close to three hours with both teams trotting out a total of 10 pitchers.

The Tomcats jumped out to a 5-0 lead through 2.5 innings. They picked up four runs in the second and added one run in the top of the third frame.
 
The Bison closed the gap to 5-2 when a Thiel error allowed two Bethany base runners to score.

Thiel went back to work in the top of the fourth, as RBI-singles by sophomore center fielder Matt Elko (Middlefield, Ohio/Berkshire), junior shortstop Cody Trinch (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) and sophomore first baseman Trent Smith (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) extended the Tomcats lead to 8-2.

The Tomcats added to their lead with a run in the fifth and added another in the sixth to make it 10-2.

The Bison came right back and tied up the game up, 10-10, in the sixth with eight runs on four hits and taking advantage of three Tomcat errors.
 
Thiel broke the tie with a run on a Bethany error in the top of the tenth, but it was the Bison who eventually broke the tie and earned the win, 12-11, with a 2-run 10^th inning.
  
Mitchell went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, two RBIs and a home run. Elko went 4-for-6 with a triple, a run scored and two RBIs, accounting for four of the Tomcats' 12 hits. Fellow sophomore Dan Koller (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) also collected an extra base hit, crushing a two-run double in Thiel's four-run second inning.

Pat Duncan (Eastlake, Ohio/Eastlake North) took the loss. He pitched one and a 1/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs, one of which was earned, on three hits. He also walked two. Petrella picked up the win for the Bison. He threw 2/3 innings of relief without allowing a hit or a run.

The Tomcats return to action on May 3, as they play their final home contest of the 2014 season against the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes. First pitch of Senior Day is set for 4 p.m.