O'Malley Breaks 39-Year Old Home Run Record in Split at TNU
Nashville, Tenn. – The University of Findlay baseball team split a doubleheader on Monday, April 26, the second day of a series at Trevecca Nazarene University. Findlay won the first contest by a score of 6-3 and, despite leading in the final inning of the second game, lost on a walk off by a score of 8-7. With the split the Oilers are now 11-20 overall and 9-15 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play while Trevecca, which won the series, is now 22-8 and 17-3 in league action.
The Trojans were first on the board in the opener, scoring a single run in the bottom of the first inning, but Findlay was not about to go away quietly. In the second, senior Austin Rawlins started the inning with a walk and, after two quick outs, senior Casey Gould singled to put runners on the corners. Senior Tyler Archambeau then ripped a double to right center which plated both runners and gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead.
TNU tied the game in the third, but a solo home run by sophomore Cam Farrar in the fourth and a balk in the fifth put Findlay ahead by two.
In the seventh and final inning, Findlay added some insurance runs when sophomore Nate Brooks had two RBI on a single to center, making the score 6-2. A two out home run in the bottom of the seventh by Trevecca pulled the Trojans to within three, but a pop up to short ended the contest with the Oilers on top.
In the game, Findlay outhit Trevecca eight to five with senior Ethan St. Clair as the lone multi-hit performance for the Orange and Black. St. Clair was two-for-three with a two runs scored. He also reached base via walk. Archambeau and Brooks each had a pair of RBI to their credit.
Junior Ryan Mohr was the Oilers' starting pitcher in the opener and threw very well, tossing a complete game and allowing just three runs on five hits. He skirted around five walks and a hit batter and struck out seven.
The second game began much differently as the home Trojans wasted no time taking a commanding lead. Trevecca used four hits to score six runs in the first inning to take a 6-0 lead and knock out the Oilers starter, sophomore Tyler Trammel, who was able to record just two outs, although all six of the runs scored against him were unearned thanks to an error on the second batter of the game.
Findlay clawed their way back in the second inning, an inning that started with a double from Nate Brooks and a single from Cam Farrar. Casey Gould then rolled a ball through the right side to pick up and RBI and the next batter, senior Ryan O'Malley, went deep over the tall green wall in left field for a three-run blast that made the score 6-4. That home run was the ninth of the year for O'Malley which establishes a new school record for home runs in a season. Eight players at Findlay have hit eight home runs in a year, most recently of which was George Rohan and Jeff Peters who each hit eight in the 2008 campaign. That record had stood since it was first accomplished 39 years ago in 1982 by Mark Massie.
An RBI single by Farrar in the third pulled Findlay to within one and, over the next two and a half innings, both teams combined for just two hits as the relief pitchers started to settle into a groove.
Casey Gould led off the sixth with a single and, after a pair of outs, sophomore Cole Kwiatkowski went deep to left-center field for his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot that put the Oilers ahead 7-6.
In the top of the ninth, Findlay got runners to second and third with two outs, but a fly out ended the threat and kept the difference at one run.
Findlay sent junior Gavin Bailey to the mound in a save situation, needing just three outs to earn the doubleheader sweep and series split against the first place team in the conference standings. Bailey retired the first two batters he faced. A single put one runner on and the next batter hit a single to right center. Ethan Harrison, who had the first single, raced around second, headed for third, but the ball was misplayed in right field, allowing Harrison to score and tie the game at 7-7. After a hit-by-pitch, Trevecca's Shawn Wallwork, who had four hits in game two, singled to left center, sending the Trojans in a frenzy with a walk off victory.
Again, Findlay outhit Trevecca in the night cap, picking up 14 hits while TNU had 12.
Brooks, who had a pair of doubles, and Gould each finished the game three-for-four with a pair of runs scored, while Kwiatkowski had two hits, a run scored, and two RBI.
Junior Trey Bame, who entered the game in the first inning for starter Tyler Trammel, put together one of his best performances of his young career. Bame tossed 7.2 innings and allowed just five hits, no walks, and no hit batters. The Carey, Ohio native struck out six batters and did not allow a run.
Currently on the outside looking in as far as conference tournament aspirations, the Oilers have an important series coming May 1-2 as they play host to Tiffin University for the final home series of the season.