GREENVILLE, Pa. (March 25) -- The Thiel College Baseball team slugged its way to a 10-9 victory over La Roche University Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference clash from Tomcat Park.
The Tomcats improve to 4-13 while the Redhawks dip to 5-12. All the offense came in the first four innings as neither side mustered a run past the fifth frame.
Max Bihler (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) cranked his first collegiate home run in the bottom of the first to put the Cats up 2-0. La Roche answered with an 8-spot in the second to climb ahead 8-2.
Ivan Rudiak (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) knocked a RBI single in the third to make it 8-3.
Bihler reached base four times with a pair of hits and walks each to go with a career-high-tying 3 runs. Rudiak had a pair of RBIs along with a hit.
Zach Smith (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) and
Andrew McRoberts (Cortland, Ohio/Lakeview) knocked back-to-back RBI singles in the third while 2 more runs came in later in the frame to make it 9-7. The Cats knotted things at 9 on back-to-back run-scoring wild pitches in the fourth before
Joey Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) knocked the eventual-game-winning hit later in the inning to make it 10-9.
Smith smacked three hits and recorded a run and RBI each. McRoberts notched a hit, RBI and walk while scoring twice. Fell reached base three times with a hit and two free passes to go with a RBI, run and stolen base each.
After allowing a run in the third,
Josh Daum (Tionesta, Pa./North Clarion) settled in and worked 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth. Daum held La Roche without a baserunner in scoring position from the sixth through eighth inning before sending the Redhawks down in order in the ninth to spell the 10-9 win.
Daum produced the most solid outing in his Thiel career as he worked a career-most seven innings in relief. He scattered four hits and walked just one while recording a trio of strikeouts to collect his first win of the year.
Thiel is back in action Saturday for a Presidents' Athletic Conference twinbill at Bethany beginning at 1 p.m.
