HIRAM, Ohio (April 30) -- The Thiel College Baseball team dropped both halves of a seven-inning doubleheader with Hiram College Wednesday evening in non-conference action at Fishel Field at Proverbs Park.
The Tomcats fall to 13-25 while the Terriers improve to 14-23-1 with wins of 4-1 in the opener and 3-1 in the nightcap.
Game 1 -- Thiel 1, Hiram 4
Trailing 1-0 in the third,
Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) doubled down the left-field line to open the inning.
Cole Sherwin (Karns City, Pa./Karns City) knocked a single and
Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) reached on an error that scored Schimizzi to knot things at 1.
Nathen Prunty (Elyria, Ohio/Keystone) followed with a single to load the bases with one out, but Thiel was unable to push across the go-ahead run.
Schimizzi, Sherwin and Prunty all finished with a hit in the opener.
Hiram loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but
Dillon Belknap (Lagrange, Ohio/Keystone) induced an inning-ending 5-3 double play to keep the game deadlocked at 1. The home side broke through with a 3-spot in the fifth to pull ahead 4-1.
Chase Morrison (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) cracked a single to open the seventh, but Thiel was unable to make any late-game magic happen as the Terriers took the opener.
Belknap took the loss and fell to 0-3 on the year.
Tony Malone (Sharpsville, Pa./Lakeview) worked the sixth inning and K'd the side.
Game 2 -- Thiel 1, Hiram 3
Trailing 3-1 with two outs in the seventh, Brightwell singled,
Nick Jacobs (New Castle, Pa./Union) walked and Prunty singled to right center to load the bases and give Thiel a chance to tie or take the lead. Schimizzi came to the dish and roped a liner into left center but it stayed up long enough for the centerfielder to make the grab and end the game.
Brightwell had a pair of hits, walked and stole a base while Jacobs reached base three times with a hit and two walks. Prunty had a hit in the nightcap.
Thiel loaded the bases with no outs in the first and brought in 1 on a Schimizzi walk, but were unable to put a crooked number on the board. The Tomcats drew three walks in the opening inning.
Schimizzi drew two walks and had a RBI.
Charlie Luedtke (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) got the start and worked two scoreless innings with a K. He gave way to
Nate Lucas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) who worked a spotless third while
Alec Katon (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) logged a clean fourth. Hiram got all 3 of its runs in the fifth off of
Brady Rzodkiewicz (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek), who took the loss and fell to 2-3.
Ethan Bintrim (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) worked a one-two-three sixth.
Looking Ahead
Thiel concludes the regular season Saturday against Waynesburg at 1 p.m. from Tomcat Park. The Tomcats will clinch a spot in the PAC Championship Tournament with one victory Saturday.
