WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Thiel College baseball team continued play in the 2017 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Championship Tournament against second-seeded Thomas More College. In the elimination game the Tomcats fell by a final score of 6-5 to the Saints. The loss officially ends Thiel's season.
The Saints jumped out to a 1-0 lead on an RBI fielder's choice by first baseman Sean Lawrence in the first.
Thomas More kept the offense coming as third baseman Bailey Abbatiello homered to left-center to make it 2-0 in the second.
Second baseman
Filippo Costanzo (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) singled to left center to put the Tomcats on the board. Catcher
Andrew Giesey (Penn, Pa./Penn Trafford) was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning but not before left fielder
Nick Fowkes (New Eagle, Pa./Ringgold) crossed home.
Third baseman
Nick Grice (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport)'s sacrifice-fly to left field was enough to score
Jake Marino (Pittsfield, Pa./Youngsville) to tie the game 2-2 after three.
Tomcats were unable to take advantage of two runners on in the fourth as the game remained tied 2-2 after four.
Center fielder
Bryan Mitchell (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) gave the Tomcats their first lead of the day on a double to left center to score
Alex Lam (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro). Thomas More Starter Jayson Essell day ended after the run. Reliever Josh Cain came on in relief. The Tomcats were not done in the inning as right fielder
Zach Hudecek (Gibsonia, Pa./Deer Lakes) grounded out on a fielder's choice to score another run. Thiel led 4-2 after five.
Starter
Kevin Forrester (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) was locked in after six as he allowed two runs on three hits and five strikeouts before loading the bases in the seventh. The Tomcats were able to pull off a hidden ball trick at third for the first out of the inning. Forrester was able to get out of the inning unscathed. Thiel led 5-2 after seven.
Forrester was relieved in the eighth after filling the bases again.
Tanner Teconchuk (North Warren, Pa./Warren) came on to allow four runs in the eighth, none of which were earned runs.
Thomas More led 6-5 after eight, a lead that the Saints did not relinquish as Thiel was unable to score in the eighth or ninth to tie or regain the lead.
Cain (4-2) earned the win as Teconchuk (2-6) picked up the loss. Ken Ruberg collected the save.
Thiel with the loss now has officially ended the 2017 season with an overall record 21-19.
