WOOSTER, Ohio – The Thiel Tomcats earned an 11-8 non-conference win over the eighth-ranked Wooster Fighting Scots Tuesday at Art Murray Field.
The Tomcats opened scoring in the top of the first when Alec Hammond threw a wild pitch that scored
Filippo Costanzo (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick). The Scots answered with a two-run second inning with RBIs by Drew Tornow and Jeremy Fernando to take a 2-1 lead.
After walks to the both
Nick Grice (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) and
Daniel Patrice (Munich, Germany/EST) to start the third, Thiel exploded for five runs.
Nick Fowkes (New Eagle, Pa./Ringgold) homered to left field to drive in three runs, which chased starter Alec Hammond off the hill in favor of reliever Jacob Pries.
The Tomcats got to Pries, too. Still in the third,
Bryan Mitchell (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) singled to center field and
Alex Lam (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) belted a home run down the left field line to add to the Thiel lead.
Wooster added a run in the bottom of the third but Thiel held on to a 6-3 lead.
The Tomcats got back to work at the plate in the fourth. With Costanzo and Grice on base, Patrice hit a 2-RBI double to right field. Fowkes pushed another run across the plate on a single through the left side, and
Joe Mott (Kinsman, Ohio/Badger) followed with an RBI-double to right field.
Wooster picked up one run in the bottom of the fourth but the Tomcats held a 10-4 lead.
The Fighting Scots chipped away at the lead with three runs over the fifth and sixth innings
After scoreless seventh and eighth innings, Thiel picked up an insurance run in the ninth on
Jake Marino (Pittsfield, Pa./Youngsville)'s run-scoring single up the middle.
Although they picked up a run in the bottom of the ninth,
Kevin Forrester (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) held on to pick up his second save of the season. In two innings, Forrester allowed one run on two hits.
Thiel starter
Matt Gayda (Pittsburgh, Pa./Allderdice) picked up the win, his first of the season. Gayda allowed six runs on six hits with a pair of strikeouts in five innings of work.
Nate White (Franklin, Pa./Rocky Grove) also pitched two innings allowing one run on three hits.
Fowkes led the Tomcats at the plate with a 4-for-4 performance that included four RBIs, a three-run homer and a double.
The Tomcats (13-9, 5-4 PAC) will return to action Friday when they host the Bethany Bison at Tomcat Park. The 9-inning PAC game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
