GREENVILLE, Pa. (April 26) -- The Thiel College Baseball team dropped both halves of a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader with Grove City College Saturday from a frigid and windy Tomcat Park.
The Wolverines (25-9, 15-3) took game one 12-1 in eight innings and claimed the nightcap 10-5 over the Tomcats (13-22, 9-9).
Thiel holds a one-game lead over Chatham (8-10) for the sixth and final spot in the PAC Championship Tournament race. The Blue and Gold hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cougars with a 2-0 mark.
Game 1 -- Thiel 1, Grove City 12 (8 Inn.)
Grove City pounced ahead 7-0 after two innings. Thiel had a pair on in the third but an inning-ending double play thwarted the Tomcats' run-scoring chance. The visitor went on to add a run each in the 3rd through 5th innings to lead 10-0 after five. The Tomcats got on the board in the sixth as
Andrew McRoberts (Cortland, Ohio/Lakeview) drove in
Aidan Ochs (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon).
Dillon Belknap (Lagrange, Ohio/Keystone) provided needed depth from the bullpen as he entered in the third and worked five innings. He threw a season-high 107 pitches and K'd three.
The Tomcat bats mustered just two hits as David Leslie, one of the top pitchers in the PAC, stifled the Thiel bats through seven innings of work.
Game 2 -- Thiel 5, Grove City 10
The Wolverine bats stayed hot to open game two as they jumped to a 7-0 lead after three innings and chased
Ethan Bintrim (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) from the game.
Archie Teconchuk (Warren, Pa./Warren) came on in relief and worked a career-best six innings. After allowing three hits and runs each in the fourth inning, he went on to work five innings of hitless relief and surrendered just two baserunners.
After being held without a baserunner through four innings, the Tomcat bats broke through in the fifth as
Calvin Cackowski (Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe) and
Nick Jacobs (New Castle, Pa./Union) singled to open the inning and Bintrim brought in Cackowski with a single of his own to make it 10-1. The Tomcats added another run in the frame to cut the deficit to 8.
Thiel plated 2 more in the seventh on a
Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) 2-run single to make it 10-4. Jacobs cranked a RBI double in the eighth to spell the 10-5 final.
Cackowski finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs while Jacobs was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI each. Bintrim had a hit, run, RBI and walk each.
Schimizzi finihsed with a hit and two RBIs while
Cole Sherwin (Karns City, Pa./Karns City) had a hit and drew a pair of walks.
Looking Ahead
Baseball will play a trio of non-conference games in the coming week, beginning with a trip to Mount Union tomorrow at 1 p.m. The Tomcats then head to Hiram Wednesday (2 p.m.) and host Penn State Shenango Thursday (4:30 p.m.) before concluding the regular season at home versus Waynesburg next Saturday at 1 p.m.
