Oilers Fall to No. 17 ODU on Senior Day
Findlay, Ohio – Playing its final game at The Cube for the 2018 season, the University of Findlay baseball team dropped their last regular-season game of the year at the hands of no. 17 Ohio Dominican. The 8-4 loss on Senior Day gives the Oilers a record of 22-15 overall and a 15-10 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play while the Panthers close out the year with an impressive 32-13 record overall and a league-best 18-7 to earn the G-MAC North Division crown.
Locked up in a pitcher's duel early, it was the Oilers who got on the board first, striking with a single run in the bottom of the third inning. After two outs to start the frame, freshman Ethan St. Clair singled to right field and came around to score when the next batter, junior Derrick Herd, roped a double to left center.
The Panthers finally got to the Oilers' starter, junior Cory Carl, in the fifth inning when they were able to plate a pair of runs on the strength of two extra base hits. However, the turning point was in the following inning when ODU put up five runs on four hits to extend their lead to 7-1.
Senior Josh Schwerer led off the seventh inning with a solo blast to left field, the fifth home run of his career, to pull the Oilers within five runs, but the Panthers answered with a single run of their own in the top of the eighth.
Two more runs in the eighth pulled the Oilers to within four runs, but, after an hour lighting delay in the middle of the ninth, ODU closer Brad Wilson came into the game and sealed the victory for the visiting Panthers.
Cory Carl took the loss on the hill after throwing 4.2 innings and allowing two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out two. Findlay emptied the bull pen after Carl as five more pitchers would see action in the contest.
Freshman Ethan St. Clair, junior Derrick Herd, and senior Josh Schwerer each had two hits for the Oilers. Schwerer scored a run, had an RBI, and reached base in three of his four plate appearances.
As the fourth team in the G-MAC North Division, the Oilers will take on the South Division Champion, Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers on Wednesday, May 9 at 1:30pm in Mason, Ohio. Information about the tournament can be found on the 2018 G-MAC Baseball Championship homepage.
