Oilers Drop Two in Florida
The University of Findlay softball team suffered a pair of losses on their second day of their spring break trip in Clermont, Florida. The losses drop the Oilers to 4-8 on the season.
#8 Saint Leo University handed the Oilers a 7-0 loss in the first game of the day. The Lions limited Findlay to just one hit in the game, while they picked up 11 hits.
The 8th ranked Lions took a 1-0 lead at the end of the first inning and added two more runs in the fifth inning on an inside the park home run by Sommar Pollard. They scored their final four runs in the sixth inning.
The lone hit for the Oilers came in the second inning from junior catcher Kelley Cejer.
Sophomore Hailey Bryan (2-5) picked up the loss for Findlay. She pitched 4.1 innings giving up three runs on seven hits with one strikeout. Freshman Evyn Kachenmeister pitched 1.2 innings giving up four runs, two earned, on three hits and recorded her first career strikeout. Junior Maria Pappano pitched the final inning, giving up just one hit.
The Oilers dropped a heart-breaking 5-4 loss to Wilmington (Del.) on their final game of the day in Florida. The Oilers came back from a three run deficit, but were unable to come away with the victory.
Findlay got on the scoreboard first in the opening inning, thanks to a couple of miscues by Wildcats to take an early 1-0 lead. Wilmington evened the score in the bottom of the inning.
The Oilers returned the favor by committing two errors in the third inning. The Wildcats took advantage by scoring two runs to take a 3-1 lead. Wilmington added another run in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Findlay bats came alive in the top of the seventh inning as they scored three runs on four hits. Senior Lauren Trumpler led off the inning with a single and junior Amanda Delmonte also connected on a single. With one out, junior Madison Arnold emptied the bases with a three run home run (5th on the season) to tie the game at 4-4.
The Wildcats were able to withstand the Oiler comeback and win in walk-off fashion. Wilmington recorded three straight singles to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh. Kaitlyn Slater provided the go ahead run with a RBI single for a 5-4 final.
Senior Jenna Inman started on the hill for the Oilers. She pitched four innings giving up four runs, three earned, on four hits. Junior Morgan James (1-2) took the tough loss on the mound for Findlay after coming in to pitch in the fifth inning. She gave up just one run, on five hits while striking out three.
Freshman Madison Mollette went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Oilers, while Arnold connected on 1-for-3 at bats with the three RBI home run.
The Oilers return to the playing field in Florida on Wednesday, March 8 at 1:00 p.m. against Saint Cloud State and 3:30 p.m. Salem International.