CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – The Thiel College baseball team split two games on elimination day at the 2016 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament, held at Thomas More College.
Second-seeded Thiel eliminated fourth-seeded Grove City Wolverines in the first game with a 12-7 victory.
Thiel scored four runs in the top of the first inning. After loading the bases with no outs,
Dan Koller (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and
Bryan Mitchell (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) delivered back-to-back singles that scored three runs. Two batters later,
Nick Fowkes (New Eagle, Pa./Ringgold) scored Koller on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Thiel added two more runs in the third and a run in the fourth. In the third inning, Mitchell singled to left field to score
Trent Smith (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) from second base. After a double play, Koller scored when the Grove City second baseman committed an error.
Trent Smith (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) plated
Daniel Patrice (Munich, Germany/ESIT) in the fourth inning on a RBI groundout to the second baseman.
Grove City cut into the Thiel lead with a five-run fourth inning but Thiel answered with a run in the seventh inning on a RBI double down the right field line by Fowkes that scored
Josh Doody (Grove City, Pa. /Grove City).
Thiel added four runs of insurance in the top of the ninth. Mitchell led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Doody followed with a single to right field that scored Mitchell. Three batters later, Patrice singled to left field that plated Doody.
Jake Marino (Pittsfield, Pa./Youngsville) knocked a double to right center field that allowed Patrice and
Brian Genco (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville).
A late two-run home run by Grove City's Matt Waugaman was too little, too late for the Wolverines.
Jaden Nozicka (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) picked up his sixth win of the season in six innings of work.
Nick Bucci (Pittsburgh, Pa./Allderdice) earned his first collegiate save in relief of Nozicka,
Mitchell, Doody, Koller and Patrice each collected three hits in the victory while Mitchell drove home three runs.
Thiel dropped a wild 16-12 decision in an elimination game with the first-seeded Thomas More Saints.
After falling behind 7-0 early to Thomas More, Thiel responded with a seven-run fourth inning to tie the ballgame. Fowkes opened the Thiel scoring in the fourth with a no out, two RBI single through the right side with the bases loaded that scored Mithell and Koller. Two batters later, Patrice doubled to deep right center field that plated Fowkes and Doody. Marino brought Patrice home on a single through the left side of the infield. Smith then followed with a two-run blast over the center field fence.
Thiel took the lead in the top of the fifth inning when Patrice knocked another double to deep right center field that scored Genco.
Thomas More retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth but Thiel regained the lead with two runs in the seventh and a run in the eighth. Genco gave Thiel the lead in the seventh with a two-run dinger to left center field. A double in the eighth by Koller that scored Smith gave Thiel the two run advantage.
Thomas More then took the one-run lead behind a three-run bottom of the eighth inning. Smith tied up the game in the top of the ninth with a two out, single to center field that scored
Zach Hudecek (Gibsonia, Pa./Deer Lakes).
Thomas More won the game in the bottom of the tenth inning when Ben Laumann hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs.
Smith went 4-for-6 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Koller , Genco and Patrice each recorded three hits.
Thiel finishes the 2016 season with a 29-14 overall record, tying the program record for wins in a season and a 17-7 record in the PAC
