PITTSBURGH, Pa. – April 25, 2021 – The Chatham University baseball team fell to Thiel College in the home double header on Sunday in a pair of nine-inning games, 5-0 in game one and 5-4 in game two. Chatham's records fall to 8-18 overall and 7-13 in PAC play.
 
The bats in game one went dormant with the exception of a second inning single by first-year Justin Marshall. The only other base runners came courtesy of walks issued by Thiel. The Tomcats tacked on their runs in the second and sixth innings to put away the Cougars in the nine-inning game one.
 
First-year Dominic Costellic took the loss despite fanning seven Tomcats in 5.2 innings. He allowed all five runs and 12 base hits. Sophomore Cole Couchman relieved him and limited Thiel to just one base hit in 3.1 innings.
 
Game two started with more of the same after Thiel struck right away for two runs. However, Chatham got its first run of the day after Marshall singled to bring home Couchman in the bottom of the second inning. The score remained 2-1 for most of the first half of the game.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cougars got a pair of big base knocks from seniors Jonathan Scarsella and Logan Kasper, the latter of which doubled to tie the game at two. Kasper advanced to third on the throw and later scored on a passed ball to give Chatham a 3-2 lead.
 
Thiel took the lead in the top of the sixth, but an unconventional play gave the Cougars the lead right back. A strikeout on a pitch in the turf gave the batter a chance to take off for first. As the Tomcats got the out at first, junior Nico Cuello scored the run to give Chatham a 4-3 lead.
 
Things were looking good for Chatham heading into the seventh. Despite the bases being loaded, Chatham got a strikeout and were working for a come-from-behind victory over Thiel. Unfortunately, a passed ball tied the game at four and the Cougars could not strike back in the bottom of the seventh, leading to free baseball.
 
Chatham threatened in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded thanks to a fielder's choice, a walk and an error. Thiel walked three Cougars in the bottom of the eighth. Chatham left the bases stranded.
 
The Tomcats won the game in the top of the ninth after an RBI triple ripped to left center brought home the eventual game winning run. This came in spite of Chatham having the tying run in scoring position. A pair of strikeouts and a line out ended the game and the threat.
 
Despite the loss, Chatham vastly improved from game one offensively. For starters, the Cougars got seven base hits including a double by Kasper. Scarsella and Marshall each smacked a pair of base hits with the latter tallying a pair of RBIs.
 
Sophomore Eric Paulin started the first 2.1 innings and allowed eight hits but two runs. He was relieved by junior Trevor Salvior, going 3.2 innings and surrendering just one hit and one run. Taking the loss was junior Erik Napolitano, who came in late and looked to seal the deal but unfortunately gave up the seventh and ninth inning runs.
 
With the season dwindling down, Chatham travels to Grove City for a double header on Friday, April 30 with a 1 p.m. start time.