• Game 1 Box Score
• Game 2 Box Score

MARS  HILL, N.C. (Feb. 13) – Junior pitcher Kyle Thomas (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout in Game 1 on Monday afternoon, as the California University of Pennsylvania baseball team split its season-opening doubleheader at Mars Hill, winning 5-0 before falling 8-0.

With the split, the Vulcans open the year with a 1-1 record. Meanwhile, the Lions move to 2-5 overall.

Thomas yielded two hits in 7.0 innings of work, while facing just three over the minimum and allowing only two runners to reach scoring position. He issued two walks and registered four strikeouts, including two in the bottom of the seventh. Last season, Thomas tossed four complete games and ranked second on the team with a 3.86 ERA.

Cal U took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first against Lions starting pitcher Josh Dean. Sophomore third baseman Chuck Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) reached on a single and stole second before scoring on a RBI double by junior first baseman AJ Robinson (Milesburg, Pa./Bald Eagle). Junior designated hitter Kyle Petty (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) followed with a RBI single through the middle that scored Robinson from second.

The Vulcans added another run in the third when senior center fielder Troy Handza (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) scored on a passed ball. In the top of the fifth, Gasti and Robinson reached base safely to start the inning before Petty collected a RBI double. With two runners in scoring position, senior second baseman Kyle Bowser (Stoystown, Pa./North Star) delivered a RBI single before the Lions worked out of a bases-loaded situation without allowing another run.

Mars Hill threatened to score in the fifth with runners on first and second before Thomas induced an inning-ending double play. The Vulcans posted their final run of the game in the top of the seventh when Petty scored on a double-steal attempt, 6-0.

Petty led the team offensively, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and one steal. Robinson collected two hits and scored twice, while Gasti went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks in his debut with the Vulcans.

In Game 2, Mars Hill scattered only four hits and forced Cal U to use six different pitchers. Freshman GJ Senchak (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) suffered the loss in his first college start, allowing two runs (both earned) on four hits and two walks while lasting just 1.1 innings.

The Lions held a 4-0 lead after scoring a run in each of the first four innings. In the top of the fifth, Cal U failed to cut into the deficit after having runners on second and third with no outs, as Mars Hill starter Zach Davies (1-1) recorded back-to-back strikeouts before ending the inning with a ground out. In the sixth, Mars Hall added four runs behind a pair of RBI singles to increase its lead to 8-0. The Vulcans managed to load the bases in the seventh on a hit by pitch and two walks before the Lions induced a game-ending double play.

Davies earned his first win of the season after allowing just four hits and two walks in 6.1 scoreless innings. Three different Mars Hill players registered a pair of RBI in the victory.

Cal U is tentatively scheduled to return to action on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it hosts Fairmont State for a doubleheader at CONSOL Energy Park, starting at 1 p.m.