Findlay Win Streak Reaches Six
The University of Findlay softball team hosted the Timberwolves of Northwood University for a double header on Friday, March 25th to begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Oilers swept the Timberwolves 10-1 and 8-0 to improve to 16-8 on the season and 2-0 in the conference.
In the first game of the evening, Findlay used a walk-off grand slam to end the game in five innings.
In the bottom of the first, senior Brooke Scherger led off the game with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. Sophomore Kelley Cejer's RBI single put the Oilers up 1-0 and they never looked back. Junior Lauren Trumpler followed up with a double to move Cejer to third. A RBI single by junior Katie Dunphy and a sacrifice fly by freshman Rebecca Harvey extended the lead to 3-0. Before the inning ended, sophomore Hayley Apple brought home Dunphy with a RBI double for a 4-0 Findlay lead at the end of the first.
In the bottom of the second, sophomore Amanda Delmonte hit a solo shot to left center to push Findlay's lead to 5-0 heading into the third.
Northwood scored their only run in the top of the third to cut the lead to 5-1. After a couple of scoreless innings, the Oilers capped off their scoring in the bottom of the fifth.
Dunphy began the inning by reaching on an error and advanced to third on a passed ball. Harvey singled to score Dunphy. Junior Kelsey Borders doubled to move Harvey to third. With two outs, Scherger walked to load the bases. Sophomore Meredith Shepherd cleared the bases and ended the game with a grand slam for a 10-1 Findlay victory in five innings of play.
The Oilers registered eleven hits in the first game, led by Scherger, who finished 2-for-2 and Dunphy, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
On the mound, Hailey Bryan (5-5) picked up the victory, as she pitched five innings giving up four hits, one run, three walks, and striking out two.
In the second game of the evening, sophomore Chelsea McManaway pitched a no-hitter to lead the Oilers to victory. The only base runner she allowed was on a walk in the second inning. She also finished the game with nine strikeouts while improving to 10-1 on the season.
The Oilers offense picked up where they left off in the first game. In the top of the first, Cejer sent a fly ball over the center field fence for an early 1-0 Oilers lead.
After a couple scoreless innings, Findlay scored five runs on only one hit in the fifth inning. Two walks began the inning. After a fly out, Scherger walked to load the bases. A balk by Northwood's pitcher allowed the first run to come in and Shepherd walked to load the bases again. After a RBI groundout by Cejer, Trumpler smacked a home run to add three more runs to extend Findlay's lead to 6-0.
In the top of the sixth, Harvey led off with a single and Borders reach on an error. Freshman Erika Farst followed up with a single to load the bases. Delmonte connected with a single to score Harvey. After a fielder's choice to get the runner out at home, Shepherd's ground out scored the final run of the game with Findlay on top 8-0.
The Oilers finished the game with six hits, led by Farst and Apple going 1-for-1.
The Oilers return to the field on Saturday, March 26th to host Lake Superior State University for a double header at Anderson Field. The first game is scheduled to begin at 12pm.