FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Thiel College baseball team scored all the runs it needed in the fourth and fifth innings as the Tomcats defeated Dominican University, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at Connie Mack Field.

The win moved the Tomcats to 4-4 on the young season, and it marks the first time in over four years that Thiel has concluded its spring trip with a victory.

The Tomcats got on the scoreboard first, as Nick Rossmiller (Butler, Pa./Butler) led the fourth inning off with a single and came around to score on a wild pitch uncorked by Dominican starter Mitch McCaffery.

The Stars tied the game up in the top half of the fifth with a solo home run by Cody Schuster. Thiel answered in their half of the fifth, scoring three runs of their own. Doug Farley (Linesville, Pa./Linesville) did the damage at the plate for the Tomcats, ripping a two-run RBI double to left center. Dan Koller (Euclid, Ohio/Lake Catholic) followed Farley up with a RBI single of his own, putting Thiel ahead by the score of 4-1.

Dominican managed to score one run off reliever Parker Meyers (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) on a RBI single of their own in the top half of the sixth. However, the Stars were kept at bay by Meyers and good defensive plays by the Tomcats.

One such play occurred in the eighth inning when the lead runner for Dominican drove a double to the left field gap. Shortstop Cody Trinch (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) faked that he gave the ball back to Meyers, fooling the runner on second into taking his lead off towards third. The runner was promptly tagged out by Trinch and the Stars rally was all but deflated.

Four Tomcats recorded multi-hit games, with Farley leading the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a double and a run scored. Koller, Rossmiller and Nick Schiavonni (Boiling Spring, Pa./Trinity) each had two hits apiece.

Freshman Matt Elko (Middlefield, Ohio/Berkshire) picked up the win, throwing five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and striking out five. Fellow freshman Parker Meyers (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) recorded his first save in relief, going four innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits while striking out five.

Thiel returns to action on March 16, when they travel to Hiram College at 1 p.m.