HIRAM, Ohio (March 21) -- The Thiel College Baseball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader at Hiram College Saturday afternoon from Fishel Field at Proverbs Park.
The Tomcats rise to 3-10 (1-1) as they dropped game one 9-1 and took the nightcap 10-7. The Terriers now sit at 4-9 (1-1). Thiel smacked 15 hits in game two as all nine starters had at least one hit and six Tomcats had two hits.
Game 1: Thiel 1, Hiram 9
Game one was all Hiram from the start as the home side put 4 on the board in the first and 2 more in the second to lead 6-0. Thiel had a baserunner in all but one inning but was unable to plate any runs til the eighth inning as
Max Bihler (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) brought in
Aidan Ochs (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon) with a run-scoring single.
Bihler continued his hot stretch with a pair of hits and a RBI. Ochs finished with two hits and a run while
Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) also added a pair of hits.
Brady Rzodkiewicz (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) started for Thiel and struck out three in three innings of work as he was tagged with the loss. Brock Mathews logged four innings in relief while
Josh Daum (Tionesta, Pa./North Clarion) worked the eighth.
Game 2: Thiel 10, Hiram 7
After plating a run each in the first and third, Thiel added 2 more in the fourth as
Kolten Kruszewski (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) and
Calvin Cackowski (Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe) each knocked RBI singles with two outs to make it 4-0. A two-out Ochs RBI single in the fifth grew Thiel's lead to 6-0.
Kruszewski finished with a hit, run, RBI and walk each in the victory. Ochs had a pair of hits and RBIs each while scoring once. Cackowski finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run.
Dennis Fedele (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) got the start for Thiel and worked the first four innings scoreless, allowing just two hits. Hiram plated 3 in the fifth before a Cackowski homer in the sixth grew the lead back to 7-3.
Fedele collected his second victory of the season as he logged a career-high-tying 5.1 innings while striking out a career-most-tying six.
Isaiah Torres (Berea, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) finished the game with 3.2 innings to collect his second save on the year.
The Terriers chased Fedele in the sixth with 3 more to get within 1 at 7-6, but Thiel got insurance runs in the eighth on a Brightwell RBI single and 2 more in the ninth on a
Joey Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) single to make it 10-6. The home side added 1 in the ninth to spell the 10-7 final.
Brightwell added two hits and runs each to go with a RBI and stolen base. Fell also added two hits hits and RBIs apiece along with a run.
Bihler and
Zach Smith (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) each added two hits with the former scoring once and the later crossing home twice.
Looking Ahead
Thiel is back in action tomorrow for a 1 p.m. non-conference clash at John Carroll. It is the first meeting between the two squads since 2016, with the all-time series knotted at seven.
