GROVE CITY, Pa. (April 27) -- The Thiel College Baseball team dropped a pair of 1-run contests with Grove City College Monday from Jack Behringer Field in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play.
The Tomcats dip to 8-28 (4-16) while the Wolverines rise to 18-15 (13-7) with wins of 9-8 in game one and 8-7 in the nightcap. With the win in game two, the Wolverines clinched their spot in next week's PAC Championship Tournament.
Game 1 -- Thiel 8, Grove City 9
Thiel jumped ahead in the first as
Joey Schimizzi (Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South) laced a run-scoring double to score Zack Smith and make it 1-0. The Cats added runs in the fourth and fifth on a
Colton Brightwell (Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth) RBI single and 2-run double from
Calvin Cackowski (Wickliffe, Ohio/Wickliffe) to lead 5-1.
Grove City got 3 back in the fifth to make it 5-4 before the visitors responded with a 3-spot in the sixth to make it 8-4. Cackowski had another 2-run double while Schimizzi logged RBI double.
The home side got 1 back in the sixth before plating 4 in the eighth as the Tomcats went quietly in the ninth to spell the 9-8 final.
Cackowski was 2-for-5 with two doubles, four RBIs and a pair of runs. Schimizzi had a 3-for-5 effort with two RBIs and doubles. Smith reached safely in all five of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with two walks and 3 runs.
Thiel outhit Grove City 15-10 and had seven extra-base hits to the Wolverines' zero.
Mason Suss (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold) started and went 5.1 innings with four walks as he was tagged with a no decision.
Adam Manuel (Petrolia, Pa./Karns City) was tagged with the loss, falling to 0-2.
Game 2 -- Thiel 7, Grove City 8
Thiel plated 3 runs in the sixth to climb out of a 5-2 hole and lead 7-6. Cackowski roped a RBI double to make it 6-5 while the Cats took advantage of a Wolverines error, which plated 2, to lead 7-6.
The home knotted things in the bottom of the frame with a double. Working in relief,
Dennis Fedele (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) logged scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth. Fedele was one strike away from forcing extras before the Wolverines delivered a two-out walk-off single to seal the sweep.
Cackowski was 2-for-5 with 2 runs along with a RBI and a double. Smith had another 3-hit showing while
JT Gerle (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) was 3-for-5 with a run. Schimizzi drove in 2 and had a hit.
Josh Daum (Tionesta, Pa./North Clarion) started for Thiel and went three innings. Fedele worked the final 5.2 innings and was tagged with the loss, falling to 3-6. He notched four strikeouts.
Looking Ahead
Thiel caps its season Saturday with a PAC twinbill at Waynesburg beginning at 1 p.m. The Tomcats have taken 3 of the last 4 over the Yellow Jackets, including a 12-0 win last season.
