WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Thiel College softball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) twinbill on the road Saturday against the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. Thiel lost the first game 4-3 before picking up a 10-4 win in the nightcap.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out a 2-0 first-inning lead in the first game before extending their lead to 3-0 in the fourth.
The Tomcats scored their first run of the series in fifth inning when
A.J. Corradi (Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) drove in
Alexa Fike (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) on a single up the middle. The Tomcats made it a 3-2 game in the top of the sixth when
Madison Fullmer (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) delivered an RBI-single to left field, allowing
Miranda Reesman (Vandergrift, Pa./Leechburg) to reach the plate.
Waynesburg picked up its fourth and final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. Thiel went on to score one more run in its final at-bat thanks to a pair of errors but could not score the game-tying run.
Despite the loss the Tomcats outhit the Yellow Jackets 12-4 and left 10 runners on the bases.
Shannon Baker (Corry, Pa./Corry) suffered the loss. She allowed three earned runs on four hits and struck out six batters.
Fullmer led Thiel at the plate in the first game with a 2-for-3 performance that included one RBI.
Vanessa Falce (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) staked the Tomcats to an early 3-run lead in the second game when she smashed a 3-run home run over the left field fence in the first inning. It was her second round-tripper of the season.
The Yellow Jackets went on to score a run in the second and three more runs in the fourth to hold a 4-3 lead heading into the fifth frame. Thiel responded with seven runs over the final two innings to secure the PAC win.
Falce had the key hit in the sixth, a 2-RBI single to right field. Corradi drove in a pair of runs in the seventh on a single to right field.
Falce finished the second game with two hits, including a 3-run bomb in the first inning, and five RBIs. Corradi went 4-for-4 and drove in two runs.
Jessica Kelley (Freeport, Pa./Freeport) earned the win in the second game. She allowed three earned runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts.
The Tomcats are scheduled to take on the Saint Vincent Bearcats on the road Wednesday. The first game of the PAC doubleheader is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
