KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Thiel College softball team lost a pair of contests Monday during play in The Spring Games. Thiel opened the day with a tough 10-9 loss to the John Carroll Blue Streaks before falling 10-3 to the Misericordia Cougars.
 
In the first game of the day, John Carroll led 3-0 after two innings but Thiel countered with a pair of runs in the top of the third when Chase Gifford (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) hit a 2-run homer over the left field fence.
 
The Blue Streaks got those two runs back in the bottom of the third and led 5-2 after four innings. However, the Tomcats rang up seven runs in the top of the fifth to take a 9-5 lead. Ali Arter (Johnstown, Ohio/Johnstown-Monroe) had the key hit in the inning, a 2-RBI single to right field.
 
John Carroll went on to score three runs in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth while keeping Thiel off the scoreboard the rest of the way to earn the 10-9 win.
 
Gifford led the Tomcats with a 2-run homer. Jessica Kelley (Freeport, Pa./Freeport), Quinn Ursprung (Bel Air, Md./C Milton Wright) and Arter each recorded a pair of hits.
 
In the second game, Misericordia broke up a scoreless tie with a 6-run effort in the top of the fourth. Thiel responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, the first on an RBI-single by Alyssa Kidwell and the second on a sacrifice fly by Madison Fullmer (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria).
 
The Cougars picked up four more runs over the final three innings. Thiel closed the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh on an infield hit by Kelley.
 
Bailey Hoover (Smock, Pa./Uniontown) paced the Tomcats at the plate with a pair of singles.
 
The Tomcats will continue play in The Spring Games Tuesday when they face Muhlenberg (10 a.m.) and Rhodes (2:30 p.m.).