Game 1: Thiel 7, Pitt-Greensburg 3
Pitt-Greensburg held firm through five scoreless innings, but a late surge from Thiel proved to be the difference as the Bobcats dropped game one of Monday's doubleheader, 7-3.
The early innings featured a strong pitching duel, as Autumn Powell worked around traffic and kept the Tomcats off the scoreboard. Thiel threatened in the first with a double and hit-by-pitch, but Powell induced a pop-up to escape the jam. The Bobcats also showed early signs of life in the third, when Brenna Altman was hit by a pitch and Shelby Cloak followed with a single, though a double play halted the momentum.
After five innings of scoreless softball, Thiel broke through in the sixth with a decisive rally. A leadoff double sparked the inning before a sacrifice and an error allowed the game's first run to score. Moments later, a two-run double stretched the lead, and a two-run home run capped a five-run outburst that put Pitt-Greensburg in a 5-0 hole.
The Bobcats responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Cloak worked a walk and Jessica Dunn followed with a single to set the table. Hunter Taylor delivered the biggest swing of the game for Pitt-Greensburg, ripping a two-run double to left center to get the Bobcats on the board. After advancing to third on a passed ball, Taylor came home on an RBI single from Kenzie Lang, trimming the deficit to 5-3.
However, Thiel answered in the seventh, capitalizing on a walk and bunt single before a two-run double pushed the lead back to four. Pitt-Greensburg was unable to generate a comeback in the final frame, going down in order to close out the contest.
Taylor led the Bobcats offensively with two hits and two RBIs, while Cloak and Dunn each scored a run. Lang added an RBI single as part of the sixth-inning rally. Powell went six innings in the circle, striking out four before Paige Phillips worked the final inning in relief.
Game 2: Thiel 7, Pitt-Greensburg 1
Thiel carried its momentum into game two, using a big early inning to secure a 7-1 win and complete the doubleheader sweep.
The Tomcats struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of an early error before a sacrifice fly brought home the game's first run. In the second, Thiel capitalized on multiple defensive miscues by the Bobcats, plating four runs on just three hits to quickly build a 5-0 lead.
Pitt-Greensburg looked to answer in the third, putting together one of its best scoring opportunities of the game. Gabriella Grabiak doubled to center and Madyson Hart followed with a single to put runners on the corners. After a walk loaded the bases, the Bobcats were unable to break through as a flyout ended the threat.
Thiel added to its lead in the fifth with a solo home run, and an inside-the-park home run in the sixth pushed the advantage to 7-0.
The Bobcats finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Hart reached on an error and moved into scoring position before Sadie Kelly drove her in with an RBI groundout, accounting for Pitt-Greensburg's lone run of the game.
Despite a baserunner in the seventh, Pitt-Greensburg could not mount a late rally, as Thiel closed out the sweep.
Hart recorded one of the Bobcats' two hits and scored the lone run, while Grabiak added a double. Kelly drove in the team's only RBI. Nicole Palmer took the loss in the circle, while Kaetlin Caylao provided two innings of relief work.
