NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Thiel College softball team opened play in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic Monday at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex with wins over Hilbert (10-0) and Norwich (5-1).
 
Julianna Sloan (Kingsville, Ohio/Edgewood) put the Tomcats up 1-0 over the Hilbert Hawks in the first inning on an RBI-single up the middle.
 
Thiel plated five runs in the third inning to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Sloan hit another RBI-single in the frame while Casey Buechel (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes) had the key hit, a 3-RBI home run.
 
The Tomcats went on to score four more runs in the fifth inning to defeat the Hawks, 10-0. Abby Rottman (Hilliards, Pa./Moniteau) drove in two runs on a double to left field while Kylee Yothers (Indian Head, Pa./Connellsville Area) drove in a run on a double to center field. Sloan tallied her third RBI of the game on a single to left center field.
 
Sloan went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in her debut with the Tomcats. Rottman went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Riley Ladd (Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge), Kayla Roddy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Yothers all went 2-for-3. Buechel hit a 3-run homer in the third inning.
 
Roddy earned the win. She allowed just two hits in the shutout with three strikeouts.
 
Against the Norwich Cadets, Heather Farr (Conneaut, Ohio/Edgewood) gave the Tomcats a 1-0 first inning lead on a single up the middle. Norwich tied up the game in the top of the second, but the Tomcats reclaimed the lead (2-1) in the bottom of the second when Buechel scored.
 
Thiel increased its lead to 4-1 in the fourth when Sloan hit a 2-RBI double to right field. Melina Bufalini (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) gave the Tomcats an insurance run in the sixth on an infield single.
 
The Tomcats recorded 17 hits against the Cadets. Sloan went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Ladd went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Jade Rhoads (Carlton, Pa./Maplewood) went 2-for-3 while Buechel doubled and scored a run.
 
Lauren Bonner (Hermitage, Pa./Reynolds) earned the win in her first start with the Tomcats. She allowed one run on six hits. Bonner struck out four batters without issuing a walk.
 
The Tomcats (2-0) will continue play in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic Tuesday. Thiel is scheduled to play Fitchburg State College at 1:30 p.m. and Gwynedd Mercy University at 3:30 p.m.