Softball Blog #3

Hello Tomcat Family & Friends!

After a day off and a major rain delay, the Lady Tomcats returned to the diamond Thursday where they fell to the Elizabethtown Blue Jays in a 0-4 final. Senior pitcher Emily Batiz took the mound for Thiel as she allowed four runs on eight hits and six strikeouts in six innings of work. Batiz also led the offense as she was 2-3 at the dish and fellow senior Danielle Dwyer was 1-3 with a double.

Friday, which was also the team’s last game day in the Florida sun, saw the Lady Tomcats coming up short to both opponents as they fell to Lebanon Valley College in game one 3-7 and then to Iowa Lakes Community College in game two 2-10.

In game one, junior pitcher Kristen Moreland was tagged with the loss after seven complete innings where she notched six strikeouts and allowed 11 hits. Pacing the Tomcats offense were junior, Becky Betteridge who was 2-4 at the dish with a triple and two runs scored and sophomore Ashley Rable with a 2-3 performance including a pair of singles, a RBI and a run scored. Senior second baseman Jackie Belsito also added in a RBI with her single on the contest.

Game two saw senior pitcher Emily Batiz taking the loss as she allowed 10 runs, eight of which were earned, 10 hits, four walks and two strikeouts. Rable again, helped lead the offense with another 2-3 performance at the plate with a pair of singles, while Batiz and fellow senior Laura Davin each had RBI singles.

Between the immense amount of tough competition and adversity that the Lady Tomcats had to face throughout the week, they return back north with high hopes and great game situations and experiences to take note and learn from as they embark on their regular season and conference play. Thiel will look to take on Penn State Beaver when they travel down to Beaver Falls this upcoming Saturday (the 19^th) for their double header that begins at 1 p.m.

We hope to see you all there!

TCSB <3

Baseball Spring Break Blog Day 7

Student assistant coach Brian Warning is tonight's guest on the Baseball Spring Break Blog as he'll wrap up the trip.

Good evening to all of the folks out there who have been following us all week, its a gorgeous night weather wise here in Ft. Myers.  I hope that all of you back up north aren't digging out of the snow and are staying as warm as you possibly can. 

Its been a whirlwind 36 hours here at the Gene Cusic Classic. Yesterday, Thursday, the weather decided to not cooperate in the early part of the day, and delayed the start of our game with Newbury College until 8pm last night.  We finally got underway with a gorgeous moon overhead and a chill in the air just a little bit past 8.  The Tomcats struggled to get anything going through the first couple of innings, falling behind 4-0 after four.  But in the 5th we exploded for five runs, led by huge hits from Eric King, Jarod Nana, and Brock Porter to put us on top.  We would add four more runs to help get starting pitcher Brad Bates through eight innings.  He really threw well tonight and kept us in the game.  Things got a little bit dicey in the ninth inning, but Brian Newmeyer was able to come out of the bullpen and slam the door to preserve an 8-6 win.  It gave us our fifth win in a row.

Today we played Monmouth. We never really could get much going and struggled against solid pitching from the Scots and fell 12-2.  It was a tough pill to swallow after playing so well during the middle part of the week.  We are now back at the hotel preparing to eat dinner and packing our bags, as we'll be headed back to Greenville tomorrow afternoon.  We know that we are a much better team than what we showed today and we know that tomorrow will be the stiffest test we've faced all week against a traditionally strong program from North Park University. 

The Tomcats would like to thank all of the fans who've been following them on the internet throughout the week, through the athletics website, facebook, twitter, as well as this blog.  As of now, we are planning to continue the blog next weekend as the Tomcats travel to Marietta, Ohio, weather permitting, and possibly on a few road trips later in the year.  Thank you, and we'll see all of you back on campus on Monday!

The Tomcats complete play Saturday morning in the Gene Cusic Classic against the Vikings of North Park University.  Game time is scheduled for 9am. 

Baseball Spring Break Blog Day 5

Tonight's guest is sophomore shortstop Eric King. He'll recap the wild day here in Fort Myers.

Today was another early day as we had to get up and prepare for a 10 A.M. game versus Dominican, Illinois.  The game would be definately not be one of our best performances since we've been down here as we had some mental lapses, but we were able to escape with a win after a couple of breaks fell our way.  In particular, Bobby Hilliard's absolute scorcher with 2 outs in the 11th inning somehow landed in between three guys to help to secure the win.  Dave Kane got the win on the mound after he gave us some quality innings to hold off the Dominican offense.  After the 4 hour game that finally ended after 11 innings, we had the rest of the day off to do what we wanted.  The majority of the guys hung out at the pool and then made the short trip over to the Red Sox and Orioles spring training game at 7.  The game was a well played game that featured some great plays by the great Dustin Pedroia at 2nd base.  The Red Sox won the game 2 -1 on a walk-off hit by pitch that the batter took in the face.  Overall, it was another beautiful day down here in Fort Meyers and we got another win that made it even better.  Tomorrow we look to continue our winning ways with a late 5 PM game versus Newbury College.

The Tomcats return to action on Thursday at 5pm as they take on the Nighthawks of Newbury.

Softball Blog #2

Hello Again Tomcat Family & Friends!

Yesterday, or game day #2, started off with an early 9 a.m. start against The College of New Jersey where Thiel was unable to surpass the Lions in their 14-10 loss. Taking the mound for the Lady Tomcats was senior ace Emily Batiz who threw all seven innings allowing four runs on nine hits. Offensively it was senior Danielle Dwyer who led the way with a 3-4 performance including a first inning grand slam and totaling 7 RBIs – which tied a single-game program record – and two runs scored on the contest. Freshman Ashley Dolan and senior Melissa Rankin were also 3-4 on the day as Dolan had three singles and two runs scored, while Rankin had a double and three runs scored. Freshman Molly Jo Everett also added in a pair of hits, including a triple, along with a pair of runs scored.

The second game saw a closer battle, however Thiel could not quite get the bats rollin’ again as they fell to Moravian College by a score of 2-0. Junior pitcher Kristen Moreland was tagged with the loss in her seven innings of work, while Molly Jo Everett registered the Lady Tomcats lone hit on the game.

After the games and another wonderful home-cooked meal by Mama Schafer, the majority of the girls had a fun couple of hours spent speed shopping at the very large outlet mall about 30 minutes away. Many of them discovered great deals and had a fun time getting away from the condos and just walking around looking at all the shops.

Today, unfortunately had the same outcome as the past two, as Thiel fell first to Brandeis University 10-2 in six innings before being defeated 8-2 by the University of Rochester. In game one it was Batiz taking to the pitcher’s circle again where she had four strikeouts and allowed 16 hits. Batiz was sufficient at the dish though as she registered a 2-3 performance with a pair of singles. Molly Jo Everett executed well at the plate as well finishing 2-3 with a double, single and a RBI, while freshman Ali House stepped up when she was called upon to pinch hit and came through with an RBI single.

The second game of the day saw Moreland taking to the mound again, allowing just three runs on two hits and four strikeouts in her three innings of work before House came into relieve her. Finishing out the game, House gave up five runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Senior centerfielder Laura Davin led the offense with a 2-4 plate performance that consisted of a pair of singles and two runs scored. Ashley Dolan and Molly Jo Everett came through once again for the Lady Tomcats as they each finished 1-3 with an RBI.

Although the team could not pull out a pair of W’s the past two days, they looked like a solid unit and definitely played very well against some really tough teams. Most teams Thiel has faced thus far have been either nationally ranked and/or are coming off of 20+ and 30+ win seasons. One thing for sure is that the girls are definitely taking advantage of the great sunny and hot weather as well as learning from the game-like situations and experiences that they are being faced with.

Tomorrow the ladies will have their day-off for the week in which some plan on staying poolside while others plan on making a trip to Disney World. They will look to finish out the rest of the two days with a pair of wins on each day before making the trip back north.

Hope all is well back home!

TCSB <3

Baseball Spring Break Blog Day 4

Tonight's guest is senior pitcher Josh Russell, who earned his first win in a complete game effort against the Wheaton Thunder this afternoon at Terry Park.  Tonight's blog will go in a question and answer format as Josh will discuss all of the action from today's game.

Q: How did it feel for you to get your first win today over a quality opponent like Wheaton?

A: It was more importantly a good win for the team.  It was much needed and everyone got into the action from top to bottom. It was great to see some young guys make some big contributions like Eric Steininger, who came up with a big hit in the 7th inning. Everyone contributed to today's success.

Q: You gave up a run each in the 5th and 6th innings but slammed the door after that, and seemed to get stronger as the game wore on.  What enabled you to do this?

A: Long hours of team conditioning, and confidence in my defense.  I knew that they would be where they needed to be to make plays. 

Q: How did your off-speed pitches keep the Thunder off balance today? By all indications they were a potent offensive team who could really hit the fastball.

A: I really didn't have my breaking ball till the 7th inning.  I had to rely strongly on the defense behind me, and they did a great job.  Bobby Hillier came up with two big plays in the hole, we had a clutch double play turned early in the game up the middle, and my outfielders ran down some huge balls in the gaps.  Thank you to my defense, you all get a shout out tonight.

Q: The top of the 7th inning was a huge turning point in today's game.  Did getting the lead back allow you to relax and make some more pitches?

A: It was a complete game changer. The momentum was finally back in our favor, and it allowed everyone to play with more confidence.

Q: How did you convince Coach Schaly to let you go back out for the ninth inning today? How did it feel to finish off the game by striking out the side?

A: I just wanted to finish what I started.  With the momentum the way it was, I could count on everyone to do their job and carry us home for a win.

Q: The team has another big game tomorrow with a quality opponent in Dominican.  What will it take to pull out a victory tomorrow morning?

A: We'll need Tish (James Teyssier) to keep his square head on his shoulders.  We'll need another quality defensive performance put together with timely scoring.

Good Fight, and Good Night from Fort Myers.

The Tomcats return to action tomorrow vs. the Stars of Dominican University at Terry Park.  First pitch is scheduled for 10:00am.  You can follow the Tomcats with live stats at thielathletics.com.

Baseball Spring Break Blog Day 3

Junior outfielder Phil Double is tonight's guest for baseball's spring break blog. He'll recount all the action from today's 13-1 win over Defiance College.

First off I want to say that today was a beautiful day to play baseball. It was sunny and very warm. The team was excited and confident after our first win yesterday against Elms College. The game before us dragged on and on, but once we got the chance to get on the field, I could tell that it was going to be a good day. Pre-game was good and everyone was into the game. Fiorello started out strong and held them scoreless in the first. I told the guys to take pitches and be smart in the first inning to make the pitcher work. We were able to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning off a shot in the gap by Bob Hillier. This set the tempo for the rest of the game. Justin Fiorello would dominate Defiance by spotting fastballs and mixing it up. He was helped by great defense. Most notably sophomore Eric King (suffers from Little Man Syndrome) even though he let one go through the five hole he was able to make numerous terrific plays in the field. The hitting would be led by Bob Hillier driving balls all day ending up with two doubles, a triple, and five rbi. Oh I can't leave out Weston Synder and his barage of cheap hits that are falling, which he is very happy about. I want to mention that the bench was very supportive of our effort today and it is greatly aapreciated. This win will hopefully give us momentum into our game with nationally ranked Wheaton tomorrow. "Oh look a deli meat"-Russell quote of the day. Later.

The Tomcats return to action tomorrow against the Wheaton Thunder beginning at 1pm.  Live stats are available as always at thielathletics.com

Softball Blog #1

Hello Tomcat Family & Friends!

After a 21 hour bus trip and a few wrong turns and bumps in the road, the Thiel College women’s softball team finally made it to sunny Clermont, Florida for their 2011 Spring Training camp at the Dot Richardson National Training Center. Once off the bus, we unpacked all of our belongings into our gorgeous condos and some of us made a Walmart trip to grab some snack foods and anything we forgot or needed. After a quick trip to Wally World, Mama Schafer made us a delicious home-cooked dinner consisting of pasta, salad and garlic bread to get us ready for our opening day.

Although the weather was up in the 70s for the first day of play – the game results did not turn out quite to the Lady Tomcats liking as they fell in both contests.

The first game of the day began at 9 a.m. against the Eagles of Emory University where junior ace, Kristen Moreland took the mound for Thiel. Although the Lady Tomcats held a stalemate with the Eagles through three solid innings of play, the fourth and fifth saw Emory posting two runs per inning before knocking in four more in the sixth to register the early win. Even though it was a solid defensive performance for the Lady Tomcats, the hits did not quite fall through in the same fashion as the lone hit came from freshman right fielder, Ashley Dolan in her first collegiate appearance at the plate.

Game two saw more life from the Thiel lineup as they jumped out on top of the Case Western Reserve University Spartans, 7-0 in the first inning thanks to a Becky Betteridge grand slam which scored Danielle Dwyer, Karen Wolfe and Molly Jo Everett. Unfortunately this would not be enough to give the Lady Tomcats their first win of the season as they fell in the final inning to a walk off homerun for a final score of 12-11. Leading the way with a perfect 5-5 performance at the dish was senior center fielder Laura Davin and senior catcher Melissa Rankin who was 3-5 with three doubles and four RBIs.

At the conclusion of the second game, with burnt faces and dirt marks across their uniforms, the Lady Tomcats softball team was forced to wait another two hours for their bus to be towed out of the sand because it had sunk throughout the course of the day. Once freed from the sinking sand pit, the Anderson bus was on its way back to the condos where the softball girls would enjoy another great home-cooked meal by Mama Schafer before enjoying a night of relaxation.

Tomorrow will be a brand new day for the Lady Tomcats as they will begin their double-header against the College of New Jersey at 9:30 a.m. and follow up with a contest against Moravian College at 11:30 a.m. As much as we miss all of you up in the cold state of Pennsylvania, we are enjoying the sunshine and looking towards two big wins tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

Love,

TCSB <3

Baseball Spring Break Blog Day 2

Senior Luke Johnson is our guest tonight to write about Day 2 of the team's spring break trip.

Hello ladies and gentlemen. After our opening day defeat against Coast Guard, our team was eager to get back into action. We packed up the baseball gear early in the morning, and departed to the field for our 10 a.m. game against Elms College. The bus trip to the field was rather quiet, and our team seemed to be focused on one mission. That mission was a victory, and nothing strayed far from that goal.

We arrived at the ball park, and the weather was gloomy early on. We took pre-game and we were anxious to play. The game went according to plan early on, as we had an early 7-0 lead. Elms College battled back and made it a one run ball game in the top of the 7th.  As our bats quieted, Elms College tied the game in the top of the 8th. We came back to score in the bottom of the 8th, and regained the lead.

Shout out to my man Weston Snyder for some great base running in the bottom of the 8th, and another shout out to Cody Northcott for shutting down Elms in the top of the 9th.

We ended our day by feasting at Rib City, courtesy of Mr. Joseph Schaly. We're anxious to get back onto the diamond on day 3, but some much needed rest will do us some good going against Defiance tomorrow at 12 p.m.

The Tomcats look to continue their winning ways tomorrow as they take on the Yellow Jackets of Defiance College in the Stadium at Terry Park. Tomorrow's game will be webcast with live streaming stats and video.  The links for both can be found at thielathletics.com.

Baseball Spring Break Blog Day 1

Thiel senior first baseman Jake Thomas has graciously agreed to blog about the team's experiences through the long trip from Greenville to sunny Ft. Myers, to kick off their season.

When we left the frozen city of Greenville on our way to sunny Fort Myers the team was very excited and optimistic to begin the new season. The 23 hour bus drive is never one of the highlights of our trip but this year was one of the more entertaining ones. After fighting for the best seats and negotiating the bus bathroom etiquette the long bonding trip began.

We arrived in Florida around 4:00 and were greeted by the nice 80 degree weather. Practice under the lights Friday went well and our excitement for the opener really began to show. We practiced well and all the work we put in the dome this winter really showed. We were ready to take on the Coast Guard.

Game day the team was together and ready to go. We took a great pre game and coach reitterated to us that we looked ready to play. From the first pitch we felt like the better ball club but our rust still showed. Our pitching staff pitched good enough to win and our defense held strong all game. Unfortunatly our bats were not enough to pull out the "W" but we left the field with a lot of optimism and an even bigger itch to get the first win of 2011.

The Tomcats are back in action once again at Terry Park tomorrow when they take on Elms College at 10:00 am.