Oilers Take Down #21 Indianapolis in Midweek Contest
Indianapolis, Ind. - The University of Findlay baseball team picked up an impressive midweek victory on Tuesday, March 21 as they went on the road and defeated #21 Indianapolis by a score of 10-7. Findlay scored five runs in the last three innings to pick up the win, their first over a top-25 ranked team in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) since April 3 of last season against #7 Trevecca Nazarene. With the victory, the Oilers improve 8-9 on the year while UIndy, which started the season 11-0, has now dropped five straight and sit at 11-5 overall.
Findlay took a couple of punches early as the Greyhounds, who play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), opened up the scoring with single runs in the first and second innings.
Through three, Findlay trailed 2-0, but had five runners left on base, failing to cash in on some early scoring opportunities.
In the fourth inning that changed when senior Derek Fay walked to start the inning and was followed by a double to right center by senior Trey Bame. Freshman third baseman Gavyn Smith grounded out, scoring Fay and, after a walk to sophomore Austin Adelman and a wild pitch, senior Aidan Lao ripped a single up the middle, scoring two and giving the Oilers a 3-2 lead.
Indy tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, but in the top of the fifth, another leadoff walk led to runs as freshman Casey Maruniak earned a free base to start the frame. A single by senior Nate Brooks, the reigning Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) South Player of the Week, put runners on second and third thanks to heads-up baserunning by both Maruniak and Brooks. A wild pitch sent Maruniak home. Later in the inning, Adelman singled to score Brooks, giving Findlay a two-run cushion at 5-3.
Four runs by UIndy in the bottom of the fifth put the momentum back in the home team's favor as they would hold a 7-5 lead. That advantage remained through six innings.
In the top of the sixth, Adelman singled with two outs and was driven home on a double to right by Lao and, in the next inning, senior Kyron Rogers, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, turned on a ball and sent it over the fence in right field for his first career home run. That three-run blast put the Oilers ahead 9-7.
Adelman, who finished with three hits, went deep in the ninth inning for his fourth career homerun, giving Findlay a 10-7 lead with three outs remaining.
Sophomore Jacob Flaherty, who entered the game in the eighth, worked around a leadoff single and a walk, coaxing three consecutive outs to end the game, picking up his first save of the season in the process.
Adelaman was the big bat for the Oilers as he went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored. Trey Bame had two hits, including a double, and a run scored while Brooks had two hits and two runs scored.
Junior Logan Bragg was the starter on Tuesday and would work four innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits. He struck out two.
Freshman Carson Mellott got his second win of the year as he threw two innings and allowed just two hits, working the sixth and seventh innings for the Oilers.
Findlay turns its attention back to the G-MAC this weekend as they square off in a four-game set against the Malone Pioneers. The games are scheduled to be played at the Marathon Diamonds in Findlay beginning on Friday, March 24 at 1:00 pm.