Oilers Struggle with Big Innings | Drop Two Games on Second Day
Auburndale, FL- The University of Findlay Baseball team played day two of the Spring Break trip with another double header. Due to Gannon playing extra innings the day prior the games got switch around and Findlay played #22 Rollins College first. In game one Rollins put together a 6-run 8th inning to lead them to a 10-5 win over the Oilers. The win gave Rollins their 9th straight win. In game two one big inning allowed Gannon to take control of the game and beat the Oilers 6-2.
Game One- (L 10-5)
Findlay stuck first in the top of the 4th inning when sophomore Andrew Micale singled to right field bringing junior Cam Farrar (HBP) around to score giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead.
Rollins responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning with a one out RBI triple brought the score back to even.
Rollins scored again in the bottom of the 5th inning with a single up the middle plating a run. A pair of sacrifice flies later in the inning brought in two more runs to Rollins giving them a 4-1 lead.
In the top of the sixth Findlay strung together some runs. Micale would double to the left side of the field which would score junior Kyron Rogers who pinch ran for junior Nolan O'Connell (single). Senior Brandon Emery would single a few batters later to score senior Christian Orr (HBP). Emery would later score on an RBI single off the bat off Aiden Lao that tied the game at 4 a piece.
Findlay took the lead in the top of the 7th when Rogers (walk) scored on a sacrifice fly from Farrar making the score 5-4 in favor of the Oilers.
A sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the 8th inning allowed Rollins to tie the game 5-5. A two out double from the next batter plated two more runs. An error allowed another runner to cross the plate followed by a double to right center that scored two more runs for Rollins. This gave Rollins a 10-5 lead heading into the last inning.
Micale recorded 3 of the Oilers 7 hits while also batting in 2 of the 5 runs.
On the mound for the Oilers, senior Jordan Bekier threw 6 innings allowing 4 earned runs and striking out 3 batters. Bekier would get the no decision. In relief senior Trey Bame threw 1.2 innings allowing 5 earned runs and striking out one batter while recording the loss. Orr came in to pitch from playing shortstop following Bame. Orr pitched the final .1 innings for Findlay allowing one earned run facing three batters.
Game Two- (L 6-2)
Findlay started game two early scoring in the bottom of the first when Farrar walked with bases loaded allowing Lao(single) to score. A few pitches later Brooks would also cross the plate when he advanced on a pass ball to give Findlay a 2-0 lead early.
Gannon would scratch a run across in the bottom of the 3rd when a double would come around to score later in the inning.
In the fourth inning Gannon hit back-to-back doubles to bring across the tying run. Following a strikeout, two singles would bring home two more runs. A sacrifice fly would plate the fourth run of the inning for Gannon giving them a 5-2 lead.
Gannon scored again in the bottom of the 7th inning when a sacrifice fly brought in another run making it 6-2, where it would stay for the rest of the game.
Senior Alex Foulks and freshmen Christian Gulgin combined for 3 of the Oilers hits.
On the mound, Senior Ryan Mohr threw 5 innings for the Oilers striking out 4 batters while allowing 5 earned runs. Freshmen Zavier Thornton came on in relief for Findlay. Thornton allowed only 1 earned run in his 2 innings of work. Junior Spencer Giesige finished the game on the mound for Findlay striking out two batters and only allowing one hit.
Findlay will be back on the diamond on Tuesday Mar 1 to take on Nova Southeastern in Winter Haven FL at 1PM.