Early Lead Slips | Oilers Fall to UMD
Winter Haven, Fla. - The Unviersity of Findlay baseball team picked a pair of early leads but ultimately dropped their contest by a score of 9-5 against the University of Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday, Mar. 7. With the loss, the Oilers fall to 3-3 on the year while the Bulldogs improve to 4-2.
Findlay finished the game with five runs on 11 hits while UMD had nine runs on 15 hits. Each team made a pair of errors in the contest.
After allowing a single run in the top of the first inning, Casey Gould led off with a double to right center. Back-to-back singles from Ethan St. Clair and Derrick Herd would tie the game and leave runners on first and third with no outs. Nic Varde hit a sacrifice fly to give the Oilers the 2-1 lead.
The Bulldogs tied the game in the third and took the lead with a pair of runs to begin the fifth.
Findlay answered with a three-run inning to regain the lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Troy Merriman, Josh Schwerer, and Ethan St. Clair would single to load the bases. Derrick Herd reached on an error by the Bulldogs' third baseman which allowed Merriman to score. An error by the pitcher, this time off the bat of Ryan O'Malley, allowed the final two runs of the inning to score.
However, that was the final runs that the Orange and Black would score while Minnesota Duluth added single runs in the sixth and seventh and solidified the win with three runs in the ninth.
Tyler Kennedy got the start on the hill and tossed five innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, three earned. He walked one and struck out three.
Alex Harter came out of the bullpen and took the loss, throwing 2.2 innings and allowing a pair of runs on two hits. He walked three and struck out two.
Findlay's offense was powered by freshman Ethan St. Clair who finished with four hits in five at-bats and two runs scored. Casey Gould and Josh Schwerer each had two hits and a run scored on the day while Derrick Herd and Ryan O'Malley each had two RBI.
The Oilers will now shift their spring games to Cary, North Carolina and will take on St. Thomas Aquinas and Dominican (NY) on Friday beginning at 1:00pm.