WASHINGTON, Pa. (May 8)- The Saint Vincent baseball team earned a thrilling 15-12 extra innings victory against Thiel on Thursday afternoon to keep their 2025 season alive and advance in the Presidents Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The win for the Bearcats (19-21) is the 500^th career win for Saint Vincent Head Coach Mick Janosko, adding another feat to his already impressive career resume.
 
The Bearcats trailed 10-4 and rallied back to tie the game in the ninth inning, sending the game to extra innings. In extras, the Bearcats were led by a five-run tenth inning, which included what turned out to be the game-winning RBIs from Chuck Fontana on a single with the bases loaded to win the elimination game for SVC.
 
In the win, Saint Vincent was led by Dalton Nicklow who went 3-4 with a home run, five runs scored, and an RBI as well. Fontana added three hits in his four at bats, while scoring two runs and driving in four runs, including the game-winning RBI for the Bearcats.
 
Lane Golkosky added two hits and three RBIs, while both Dylan Schmude and Derek Hald recorded two hits and one RBI each. Kyle Belmont added a hit and two RBIs, while L.J. Evans and Alex Hess both recorded one hit each. Hess also drove two runs in, while Isiah Petty also had an RBI for Saint Vincent.
 
Alex Polito was impressive out of the bullpen, picking up his fourth win of the season on the mound. The senior right hander pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits, while striking out two and walking two.
 
Andrew Root picked up his second save of the season, recording the final out of the game for the Bearcats. Jeremy Kreuzwieser took the no-decision on the mound, pitching four innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits, while picking up a strikeout as well.
 
It was a great start for the Bearcats in the top of the first. With two outs in the inning, Belmon ripped a two-RBI double to left center, scoring both Nicklow and Evans to put the Bearcats up 2-0.
 
After Kreuzwieser held Thiel scoreless in the bottom of the inning, the Bearcats tacked on another run in the second. This one came on an RBI-single from Schmude, scoring Hald to increase the Saint Vincent lead to 3-0.
 
Thiel cut into the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second, but Saint Vincent still led 3-2.
 
The Bearcats scored for the third straight inning to open the game in the third as Nicklow ripped a solo homer to left to increase the Saint Vincent lead to 4-2.
 
The middle innings of the game belonged to the Tomcats. Thiel outscored SVC 8-0 in the fourth and fifth innings, using a two-run fourth and six-run fifth inning to put themselves in the lead 10-4 going into the sixth.
 
Saint Vincent began to chip away at the lead in the sixth as Fontana scored on an RBI-double from Hess to cut the lead to 10-5. SVC added four more in the seventh to cut the lead to one.
 
In the seventh, Fontana recorded a two-RBI double and Golkosky drove in two runs on a single as the score was 10-9, still in favor of Thiel.
 
After a scoreless eighth inning, the Bearcats were down to their final three outs in the ninth.
 
Nicklow led the ninth off with a single and advanced to third with two outs in the inning. After an impressive battle at the plate, Hald reached first with an infield single, allowing Nicklow to score the tying run (10-10).

SVC would load the bases with two outs in the inning but were unable to score as the game headed to the bottom of the ninth, tied at 10-10. Polito curised through the ninth for SVC and sent the game to extra innings.
 
The Bearcats broke it open in the tenth with a five-run inning. First, Fontana ripped what turned out to be the game-winning two RBI single up the middle to put SVC up 12-10. Golkosky followed with an RBI single, and Hess recorded an RBI-sac fly as the Bearcats found themselves up 15-10 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
 
Thiel scored two runs in the tenth, but it was too little too late as the Bearcats held on for the win to advance in the tournament and record the milestone victory for their head coach.
 
The Bearcats now advance to take on fourth seeded Westminster in another elimination game tomorrow, Friday, May 9. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Ross Memorial Park in Washington.