GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Thiel Baseball team secured their third and fourth straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) wins of the season over Saint Vincent 14-4 and 18-2 Tuesday afternoon at the Baseball Field in Tomcat Park.
Thiel advances to 8-14 on the season and 4-2 in conference play, as the Bearcats fall to 10-13 and 4-4 in the PAC.
The Tomcats are on a four-game winning streak which includes 66 hits and 63 runs against their opponents Saint Vincent and Bethany, where three out of the four games were run ruled by Thiel and ended in seven innings.
Game 1
Thiel got on the board early as Nathen Prunty (Elyria, Ohio/Keystone) extended his career-best on-base streak to 15 games with a run-scoring double to make it 1-0. Alec Katon (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) worked a 1-2-3 second, and Thiel added 2 more in the second as Fletcher Hindman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) had a RBI infield single and Chase Morrison (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) brought home one on a sac fly.
Prunty finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a pair of runs. Hindman had a pair of hits along with a run and RBI each while Morrison scored twice and knocked in 1.
The Bearcats added 1 in the third and put 3 on the board in the fourth to knock Katon out after 3.2 innings and lead 4-3.
Katon struck out two and now sits at 198 career strikeouts as he aims to become the second Tomcat to K 200 batters in a career.
The Blue and Gold answered in the bottom of the fourth as Thiel got five straight singles, two of which were by Prunty and Morrison that brought in runs to pull ahead 5-4. With the bases juiced, Max Bihler (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) brought home 1 on a walk and Calvin Cackowski (Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe) capped the inning with a 2-run single to put Thiel up 8-4.
Bihler drew a pair of walks and had a RBI to extend his on-base streak in starts to 14 straight. Cackowski was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run.
Archie Teconchuk (Warren, Pa./Warren) worked a scoreless fifth but walked the first two batters in the sixth. Hewitt Wilt (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) came on in relief and got out of the jam with a double play and a fielder's choice.
Teconcuk was credited with the win, moving to 2-1 while Wilt got his first career save.
Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) had a RBI single in the seventh to make it 9-4 while Morrison, Nick Jacobs (New Castle, Pa./Union) and Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) each had RBIs to grow the lead to 12-4. The Tomcats ended the game as two scored on a error to invoke the run rule and seal the seven-inning win.
Brightwell was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and 2 runs while Jacobs was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and RBI.
Thiel clubbed 15 hits in the win, drew five walks and struck out just once. Eight different Tomcats drove in runs in the game-one win.
Game 2
A quiet first few innings for both teams as Brightwell scored off a balk and a sacrifice fly from Prunty and Saint Vincent scored off a hit to the outfield, Bearcats trailing 3-2 in the fourth.
Thiel broke the silence in the bottom of the fifth inning scoring five runs off four hits from Morrison, Prunty, Jacobs, and Hindman along with a second balk of the day to advance Prunty home.
A sixth inning nine score run gave Thiel the security they needed to earn their fourth straight PAC win of the season.
Morrison, Prunty, Jacobs, and Bihler all hit singles to the outfield to advance each other and bring in four runs to make the score 12-2. Cackowski doubled bringing in three RBIs, followed by three more singles from Bintrim, Sherwin and pinch hitter Aiden Oches to bring the Tomcats around the bases.
Back to the top of the lineup with a single from pinch hitter Zach Smith (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) and double from Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) for three more runs and a final score of 18-2.
Twelve different Tomcats made a difference at the plate including a team high three hits from Morrison and Jacobs, and Schimizzi and Cackowski with three RBIs each.
Brady Rzodkiewicz (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) threw a complete game and secured his third win of the season with 100 total pitches and three strikeouts. Rzodkiewicz had five scoreless innings and only gave up six hits off 28 batters.
Looking Ahead
The Tomcats are back in action on Friday, April 4 when they travel to Meadville, Pa. to take on Allegheny. The PAC doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Robert M. Garbark '32 Field.
