Thiel Baseball Senior Day Recap

By Ben Collins 

April 16, 2026 

On Sunday, April 12^th, Thiel Baseball had their senior day ceremonies along with their non-conference matchup with Penn State Altoona. All seven seniors made appearances in the game with six of them starting. The Tomcats had struggled and had yet win a game in the month of April.  

The lone senior pitcher Josh Daum got the start and pitched two full innings allowing just one run on one hit. Daum also Walked two batters and struck out three.  

“It meant a lot to get the start on senior day and to perform well in front of my grandpa who came to watch me for the first time, it felt good to get a win.”- Josh Daum.   

Calvin Cackowski continued his phenomenal senior season. The current PAC homerun leader recorded his 29^th hit of the season and his 31^th RBI. Cackowski also had a fine day behind the dish as well. The Catcher had zero passed balls and picked off one Altoona baserunner on the day. Short Stop Cole Sherwin recorded one hit and was walked three times while scoring two runs for the Tomcats.  

Right fielder Colton Brightwell continued his consistent season with his 26^th hit on the season with a bunt single. Brightwell also walked twice and tacked on another run for the Tomcats. Getting the start at second base was J.T. Gerle Jr on Sunday. Gerle recorded an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the 6^th inning. Gerle also had an amazing double play off a lineout catch and great throw to first base. The designated hitter and making his first collegiate start on Sunday was senior Cord Pocza. Pocza recorded a hit and a walk from the plate.  

“The festivities were nice, good to see the families come together and to get bounce back win after a rough stretch was nice.” – Colton Brightwell 

The lone senior who was out with injury was middle infielder Aiden Ochs; Ochs still was a major contributor during the game. In the top of 9^th inning, Ochs was tasked with a mound visit to closing pitcher Brock Mathews. Ochs replaced pitching coach Tanner Teconchuk to speak to Mathews and the infield on the mound. Ochs played it off like a real mound visit, taking the ball briefly from Mathews and kicking the dirt. In actuality, the mound visit was a chance for the sidelined Ochs to be involved with senior day and make a fun contribution to the game for the tomcats. “Really cool to see all the seniors at there at the same time. Getting to go out with a win with these guys is something special.” Colton Brightwell 

Thiel would come away with the victory by a score of 12-6 on Sunday. Josh Daum picked up his 2^nd win on the mound with great batting days from Zach Smith and Joey Schmizzi. It was the 6^th victory for the tomcats this season and the 1^st of the month. “Our Approach Changed on Sunday, we played stress free baseball, and we just went out and had fun.” – Josh Daum. The tomcats will be back in action on Tuesday, March 14^th at 1pm with a double header conference matchup with Geneva.