Oilers' Baseball Splits with Hillsdale
Adrian, Mich. – The University of Findlay baseball team split a double-header with Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) foe Hillsdale College on Monday, March 18 in games played at Adrian College. The Oilers won the opener 11-6 to pick up their first league win, but dropped the nightcap by a score of 4-3. With the split, Findlay is now 6-7 on the year and has a 1-3 mark in the G-MAC while Hillsdale improves to 6-9 with a 3-1 record in the league.
Game 1 (W 11-6 | Box Score)
The Chargers got on the board first, scoring one run in the bottom of the second inning, but in the top of the third, Findlay answered when sophomore Ryan O'Malley, who doubled to left center to open up the inning, scored on a wild pitch.
It was the top of the fourth inning that put the Oilers on control of the contest. An error and two singles loaded the bases with one out for junior Jordan Williams. Williams then hit a triple to center field to plate three runs and on the next batter, scored on a wild pitch to give Findlay a 5-2 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.
Hillsdale clawed back to pull within one run at 5-4, but four unanswered runs put Findlay ahead 9-4.
The Chargers had a two-run double in the eighth, but the Orange and Black got a two-run double of their own from O'Malley to make the score 11-6. The Chargers went 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the game.
In the game Findlay scored their 11 runs on 14 hits and did not make an error while the Chargers scored six runs on nine hits and made a pair of errors.
Ryan O'Malley put together a three-hit game, all of which were doubles. He scored two runs and drove in two to lead the Oilers offense.
Jordan Williams also had a big day at the plate, collecting two hits including the fourth inning three-run triple. He scored a pair of runs as well.
Casey Gould and Ryan Johnson had two hits and two runs scored and Johnson added an RBI. Freshman Alex Foulks, hitting in the leadoff spot, also had two hits.
Senior lefty Hunter Weis picked up his first win on the hill as he tossed six innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits. He walked four and struck out six batters.
Game 2 (L 4-3 | Box Score)
In the second contest of the day, it was Hillsdale's offense that had the upper hand.
Findlay scored their first run in the third inning on a double from senior Trevor Anderson, but Hillsdale answered in the bottom of the third with two runs of their own.
After a scoreless fourth, the Oilers used four hits to plate two runs in the top of the fifth, but did leave two runners stranded.
Hillsdale scored one in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game and, in the bottom of the seventh, got an RBI single to roll through the right side to earn the walk-off win.
Senior Nic Varda was the only player with two hits in the game for Findlay. One of those hits was a double. He also walked and scored a run.
Senior Tyler Kennedy took the loss on the hill, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing four runs, two earned, on nine hits. He walked three and struck out seven of the 32 batters he faced.
Findlay will be back in action on Friday, March 22 as they begin a four-game series at Ohio Valley University in Vienna, West Virginia.