(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - Junior first baseman Andrew Thole (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) hit three home runs, including the eventual game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the 24th-ranked Thomas More College baseball team to a, 9-8, win over Thiel College today (Friday, April 29, 2011) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Thomas More Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.

With the win, the Saints improve to 21-6 overall and 11-5 in the PAC and with the loss, the Tomcats fall to 17-16 overall and 7-9 in the PAC.

The Saints took 5-0 lead after five innings as they scored one in the first, one in the third, one in the fourth and two in the fifth.  Thiel tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh inning as it scored three in the sixth and two in the seventh.  Thomas More regained the lead with two runs in the seventh for a 7-5 lead, but Thiel plated three runs in the top of the eighth for an 8-7 lead.  Then in the bottom of eighth Thole hit a two-run home run to give the Saints a 9-8 lead and sophomore pitcher David Etscheid (Union, Ky./Ryle) shutout the Tomcats in the top of the ninth for the win.

Thole led the Saints' offense as he was four-for-five with the three home runs, five runs batted-in and three runs scored.  Five other Saints had a hit in the game.

On the mound, sophomore Grant Lewis (Mason, Ohio/Mason) started and earned a no-decision as he pitched seven innings giving up five runs (two earned) on 11 hits struck out one.  Etscheid earned the win as he pitched two innings of relief and gave up three runs (unearned) on two hits and struck out one.

The Saints and Tomcats will close out their three-game PAC series tomorrow (Saturday, April 30) with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. at Thomas More Field.