WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Thiel College baseball team fell to the Westminster Titans, 2-0, in Game D of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament on Thursday.
With the loss, the Tomcats were eliminated from the Championship Tournament.
The first three innings were filled with great defensive plays for the Tomcats.
In the first inning,
Aidan Ochs (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Veron) threw out a Titan runner at home plate to keep the score 0-0.
Then, in the third inning, Ochs made a diving catch in left field, then threw to second to get a crucial double-play for the Tomcats. Later in the third inning, Ochs again threw out a runner at home plate to keep the score 0-0.
In the fourth inning, the Tomcats had runners on first and second with no outs, but the Tomcats could not bring anyone home.
Westminster broke the deadlock in the seventh inning after Thiel walked a batter, who then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then scored off a double.
Westminster added another run in the eighth inning.
Thiel had a runner on third with two outs in the bottom half of the eighth inning, but a ground out ended the inning.
Thiel was led by
Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) who went 2-for-4, while
Nathen Prunty (Elyria, Ohio/Keystone) went 1-for-3 with a walk. Ochs went 1-for-3, while
Seth Johnson (Magnolia, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) and
Ethan Bintrim (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) both went 1-for-4.
Westminster was led by Braeden Campbell went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Chris Davis went 1-for-2 with three walks and an RBI, while Logan Murgenovich went 2-for-5.
Bintrim got the start on the mound for the Tomcats, going three innings, giving p three hits and no runs.
Nate Lucas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) threw three innings, giving up one run and striking out two.
Brady Rzodkiewicz (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) and
Josh Ickes (Greenville, Pa./Greenville) both pitched in relief as well.
Ryan Gibbons pitched eight scoreless innings for the Titans, striking out three and only allowing six hits, earning the win. Josh Reed pitched one inning, striking out one.
The Tomcats finish the season 15-24 and 10-10 in conference play. They also qualified for the PAC Baseball Championship Tournament for the first time since 2018.