ALTOONA, Pa. (March 22) -- The Thiel College Baseball team split a road non-conference doubleheader with Penn State Altoona Saturday at Stewart Athletic Field.
The Tomcats (3-10) took game two 11-7 and the Lions (6-10) took game one 10-4.
Game 2 -- Thiel 11, Penn State Altoona 7
Thiel fell behind 3-0 early in the first but got on the board in the second with a
Fletcher Hindman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) RBI single to make it 3-1.
Alec Katon (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) worked a scoreless second, ending the inning with a pair of K's. Thiel forged ahead in the third as
Hewitt Wilt (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) raked a run-scoring double then
JT Gerle (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) clubbed his second career homer, and first since 2023, to dead center, making it 4-3 Thiel.
Gerle finished 3-for-4 with a trio of RBIs and a career-best 3 runs. Hindman had a pair of hits to go with one RBI while Wilt scored twice. Katon got the start for Thiel and worked two innings while striking out three on the afternoon.
The Lions evened things in the third with a run-scoring single, but the Tomcats answered in the fourth as
Nathen Prunty (Elyria, Ohio/Keystone) crushed his first homer of the year, a 3-run shot to left center, to give Thiel a 7-4 advantage.
Prunty was a perfect 5-for-5 at the dish with three RBIs and 1 run.
A
Chase Morrison (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) 2-run single extended Thiel's lead to 9-5 in the fifth. The Blue and Gold added 2 more in the sixth on RBI singles from Gerle and
Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) to lead 11-5. Altoona plated 2 in the sixth, but
Ethan Bintrim (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) worked a clean seventh to seal the victory.
Schimizzi was a perfect 3-for-3 in the box with a run and an RBI while Morrison finished with a hit, two RBIs and a run. Bintrim drew a walk and scored while striking out two in his first relief outing of the season.
Zach Smith (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) got the start behind the dish and drew a pair of walks, had a hit and scored once.
The Tomcats clubbed a season-best 17 hits in the victory.
Mason Suss (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold) relieved Katon in third and registered one strikeout as he was credited with the win to move to 1-0.
Charlie Luedtke (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) logged 2.1 innings of solid relief.
Game 1 -- Thiel 4, Penn State Altoona 10
The Blue and Gold jumped ahead in the opening inning as the first five Tomcats reached base. A Morrison single followed by a
Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) double made it 1-0 while a Prunty RBI single made it 2-0. The Tomcats executed a double steal with Prunty taking home to cap the inning and make it 4-0.
Morrison finished 2-for-4 with a run while Brightwell was 1-for-3 in the opener with a run, RBI and walk each. Prunty was 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI.
Brady Rzodkiewicz (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) got the start and worked two frames with a trio of strikeouts.
Dillon Belknap (Lagrange, Ohio/Keystone) came on in relief and worked a 1-2-3 third with a strikeout but was tagged for 6 runs in the fourth and 3 more in the fifth to take the loss and fall to 0-2. Of the 9 runs, 5 were earned. Belknap struck out five across the final four innings.
The Tomcats drew three walks in game one to just two strikeouts.
Looking Ahead
Baseball is scheduled to open their home slate tomorrow against Pitt Bradford in a 1 p.m doubleheader.
