NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Thiel College softball team split its final two games Friday in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.
 
The Tomcats suffered their first loss of the season Friday morning, falling to the Eastern Mennonite Royals (5-2), before earning an 11-5 win over the Wilkes Colonels.
 
Eastern Mennonite held a 2-0 lead after three innings against Thiel. The Tomcats went on to tie up the game in the top of the fourth on RBI singles by Kayla Roddy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Kylee Yothers (Indian Head, Pa./Connellsville Area).
 
The Royals went on to plate three more runs in the bottom of the fourth and held on for the 5-2 win.
 
Yothers led Thiel at the plate against EMU with two hits and one RBI.
 
Roddy absorbed the loss. She allowed three earned runs on seven hits. Roddy struck out a pair and allowed one walk.
 
Thiel led 2-1 through four innings against Wilkes. The Colonels took the lead briefly with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Tomcats responded with a game-changing eight runs in the sixth.
 
In the sixth, Julianna Sloan (Kingsville, Ohio/Edgewood) and Emmalee Sheeler (Rixford, Pa./Otto-Eldred) hit two-RBI doubles while Yothers collected two RBIs on an outfield single.
 
Yothers went 3-for-5 with four RBIs in the second game.
 
Lauren Bonner (Hermitage, Pa./Reynolds) earned the win against Wilkes to improve to 3-0 on the season. She allowed five runs, only one of which was earned, on 10 hits. Bonner struck out two and issued one walk.
 
Thiel went 5-1 during play in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.
 
The Tomcats are scheduled to host the Penn State Fayette Nittany Lions on Tuesday, March 22. The first game of the non-conference doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.