GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Thiel College baseball team split a twinball with the Westminster Titans in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play for their final home matches of the year.
Thiel picks up their fourth conference win, as the Titans advance to 13-6 in the PAC.
Game 1: Thiel 8, Westminster 4
The Blue and Gold used a fast start and a late offensive response to defeat Westminster, 8-4.
Thiel wasted no time jumping in front, capitalizing on early mistakes in the first inning. After an error allowed the opening run to score,
Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) helped keep the inning alive, setting up
Kolten Kruszewski (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) for an RBI groundout. Moments later,
JT Gerle (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) delivered an RBI double to right center, giving the Tomcats a 3-0 lead.
The Tomcats added to their advantage in the fourth when
Justin Dubee (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) launched a two-run home run, scoring
Joey Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) and extending the lead to 5-0, securing his first career homer.
On the mound,
Mason Suss (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold) was in control through six shutout innings, limiting Westminster to just four hits and worked out of trouble to keep the Titans off the scoreboard.
Westminster mounted its lone push in the seventh inning against the Thiel bullpen, scoring four runs on a series of timely hits and a throwing error to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Thiel answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Kruszewski came through again with an RBI single to bring home
Cole Sherwin (Karns City, Pa./Karns City), and Gerle followed with the biggest swing of the day, a two-run home run, to push the lead back to 8-4.
After Westminster's four-run seventh-inning rally,
Adam Manuel (Petrolia, Pa./Karns City) shut the door with two scoreless innings of relief to secure the win.
Gerle paced the offense, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs. Dubee also drove in two runs with his fourth-inning homer, while Sherwin and
Zach Smith (Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville) each contributed multi-hit efforts as part of Thiel's 12-hit attack.
Game 2: Thiel 2, Westminster 8
The Tomcats held an early lead but could not contain a late surge, falling to Westminster, 8-2.
Thiel struck first in the third inning, as
Joey Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) came around to score on a ground ball double play off the bat of Smith, giving the Tomcats a 1-0 advantage.
Westminster answered in the fourth, tying the game at 1-1 on an RBI single that was aided by a Thiel fielding error.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the seventh inning when Westminster capitalized on defensive mistakes, scoring five runs to take control of the game. A key error in the outfield allowed two runs to score, and the Titans followed with an RBI double and a two-run single to extend the lead to 6-1.
Thiel attempted to respond in the bottom half of the inning as
Calvin Cackowski (Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe) doubled to left field, and Sherwin came around to score trimming the deficit to 6-2.
Westminster added insurance in the eighth inning, again taking advantage of errors to push two more unearned runs across and build an 8-2 lead.
Offensively, Thiel was limited to seven hits. Sherwin and Cackowski each recorded two-hit performances, while Dubee, Schimizzi and Smith added hits as well. Out of the bullpen,
Isaiah Torres (Berea, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) was charged with the loss after surrendering the decisive runs in the seventh inning.
The Tomcats are back in action on Saturday, Apr. 25 as they travel down to Grove City to take on the Wolverines in a PAC doubleheader at 1 p.m.
