Stone Holtzman hit an RBI single for a 3-2 walkoff winner in game one of a twinbill between Saint Vincent and Thiel College at Bearcat Ballfield. In game two, the lead bounced back and forth several times but the Tomcats earned a split with a 7-5 win.
In game one, Holtzman's single capped what had been a pitchers' duel for much of the afternoon between Saint Vincent's
Jimmy Malone and Thiel's Sante Carducci.
In the top of the third,
Tanner Yard got on base with a one-out single, then moved to second when Holtzman drew a walk.
Matt Morrone reached on an error to load the bases, and Yard scored on wild pitch, giving SVC a 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way until the top of the 7th inning, when the Tomcats got a pair of hits and then tied the game on a passed ball.
An inning later, Zach Hudecek led off with a home run that just cleared the fence in left field, putting the Tomcats in front for the first time, 2-1.
In the bottom of the eighth,
Bobby Finn, the conference leader in home runs, tied the game with one swing, hitting his 9th home run of the season.
The first batter in the top of the 9th hit a looping line drive to center field, but
Eddie Kilkeary made a diving catch for the first out of the inning. After the next batter hit a bloop double just inside the right field line, SVC starter
Jimmy Malone was lifted and replaced with
Matt Evans. Evans got a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning and keep the game tied at 2-2.
In the bottom of the 9th,
Joe Rudzinski got on base with a one-out line drive single to left.
Shane Fajt followed with a single, moving Rudzinski to second. Yard then hit a deep fly ball to center that was caught, but Rudzinski was able to tag and move to third on the play, setting up Holtzman, who responded with a single to the opposite field in right, giving SVC the victory.
Evans (3-1) picked up the win, working the final 2/3 of an inning. Malone had a strong outing, working the first 8 1/3, scattering 6 hits, walking two and striking out three while giving up just one earned run.
For Westminster, Anthony Rago (2-4) took the loss in relief of Carducci, who threw 7 innings, gave up just three hits and no earned runs.
In game two, SVC got on the board in the second inning. Finn led off with a single, and Kilkeary followed with a double to left.
Hunter Mills, making his first collegiate plate appearance, hit a two-run single to left center, giving SVC a 2-0 lead.
After the Tomcats got a run in the top of the third, SVC got three straight hits with one out in the bottom of the inning, as Holtzman, Morrone and Finn all singled, with Finn's single bringing home Holtzman from second to make it 3-1.
Once again, the visitors scored in the top of the next inning, but the Bearcats answered right back. Mills drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a groundout by Rudzinski. Fajt then drove him home with a single, giving the Bearcats a 4-2 advantage.
In the 5th, a pair of SVC errors led to a pair of Thiel runs, tying the game, 4-4, but that score didn't hold for long. After two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Finn and Kilkeary drew back-to-back walks, and
Brady Duricko followed with a single to left that plated Finn.
In the 6th, with
Mark Locke on in relief of SVC starter
Brenden Lavely, Thiel took a 6-5 lead on a two-run home run by Daniel Patrice. The visitors then added a run on three hits in the 8th, and the Bearcats were unable to score in the final two innings.
Locke (0-1) took the loss in relief of Lavely, who worked 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs.
Ben Davis threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
After the split, the Bearcats are 8-6 in the conference, 12-14 overall. Thiel is 9-6 in the PAC, 12-17 overall.
