GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Thiel College Baseball team split with the Franciscan University Barons winning 14-3 in game two of their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader Wednesday evening at Tomcat Park.
The Tomcat's advance to 9-17 on the regular season and 5-5 in conference play, while Franciscan falls to 9-13 overall and 4-6 in the PAC.
Game 1
Franciscan jumped on the board with a 3-spot in the first inning. With two outs in the first, Nathen Prunty (Elyria, Ohio/Keystone) extended his on-base streak with a base knock to left center. Calvin Cackowski (Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe) followed with a moonshot homer down the left-field line to make it 3-2.
Prunty finished with a pair of base hits and a run to extend his on-base streak to 19 games. Cackowski pushed his career-best hitting streak to eight games with a 2-for-3 showing, 3 runs and two RBIs.
A 2-run homer in the third followed by runs in the fourth and fifth grew the Barons' lead to 10-2 in the fifth. Chase Morrison (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) singled and Cackowski doubled in the fifth before Nick Jacobs (New Castle, Pa./Union) clubbed a 2-run base knock to right center to trim the deficit to 10-4.
Morrison had a base hit and 2 runs while Jacobs finished with a hit, two RBIs and a walk.
Franciscan extended the lead to 16-4 before Thiel added 2 in the seventh on an error. The visitors recovered to seal the run-rule victory.
Max Bihler (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) extended his on-base streak in starts to 18 games with his single in the second.
Game 2
Graduate Student Alec Katon (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) secured his 200th strike out of his career at the top of the sixth inning, becoming only the second player in Thiel history to reach this milestone. Katon pitched a complete game, threw 95 pitches and three strikeouts.
Bats were hot early in the fifth inning from Cole Sherwin (Karns City, Pa./Karns City), Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South), Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) and Morrison each hitting singles to all over the outfield, bringing in three runs.
Prunty hit his fifth home run of the season and first grand slam of his career to clear Thiel's bases and give the Tomcats the 7-3 lead.
Two balks in the inning caused base runners Jacobs to score and Ethan Bintrim (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) and Sherwin to advance the bases.
Fletcher Hindman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) hit a single to right field, followed by a double from Schimizzi to bring Thiel's lead to 11-3. Schmizzi scored off a wild pitch to end the inning 12-3.
Cackowski doubled to left field, while Bintrim and Fletcher Hindman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) both hit RBI singles to finish the sixth inning 14-3.
The Tomcats were able to hold on in the top of the seventh with a double play from the shortstop, second baseman and first baseman.
Morrison led the charge with three hits, one RBI and a run on the day.
Brightwell, Cackowski, Bintrim, Hindman and Schimizzi all had two hits, while Schmizzi had three RBIs.
The Tomcats are back in action on Saturday, April 12 when they travel to Beaver Falls, Pa. to take on Geneva. The PAC doubleheader is scheduled to begin at Noon where Thiel will be looking to break .500 in conference play.
