NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- The Thiel College softball team dropped both their contests Thursday against Penn (5-0) and Bridgewater State (5-3) at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.
The Blue and Gold are 5-3 overall with two more games to play in South Carolina.
Game 1: Thiel 0, Penn 5
Penn sealed the 5-0 victory in the top of the seventh after scoring a run off two singles and a double down the left field line. Their one-hitter reached first on an error bringing in two more runs and she later ran home.
The Wildcats stuck first in the top of the sixth after five silent innings from both teams. Penn's two-hitter bombed a triple to the right field side and was brought home off a sacrifice fly to give them the 1-0 lead.
Alaina Fedder (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area) and Lily Merolillo (Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge) each had a hit in the contest, as Kayley Risser (Reynoldsville, Pa./Dubois Central Catholic) was walked twice.
Thiel left 11 runners around the bases in very critical scoring opportunities.
In the circle, Merolillo pitched six innings and threw two strikeouts. She went 49-for-72 in pitches with an ERA of 2.23. Ava Gilmore (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex Area) threw for the last 1.0 innings.
Game 2: Thiel 3, Bridgewater State 5
Bridgewater State closed out the game with two runs in their final at bat, and was able to hold Thiel off in the top of the seventh to secure the win.
The Blue and Gold tied the game at three a piece in the top of the sixth off singles from Mekiyah Stevens (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood), Gilmore and Risser, bringing Stevens home.
Thiel put runners on base in the middle innings to bring one run in the fourth and fifth but struggled to take the advantage over the Bears.
Earlier in the game, both teams traded chances in the opening innings as pitching dominated the early stages.
Bridgewater struck first with three runs in the bottom of the third frame from a Thiel error and effective hitting to the outfield.
On the mound, Gilmore pitched for five innings and threw 78 pitches. Merolillo came into finish the rest of the game and gave up one run.
The Tomcats return to action for their final day in Myrtle for two games against Albion (9 a.m.) and Immaculata (1 p.m.) at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.
