Seeing Double | Findlay Wins Pair of 7-3 Games vs Malone to Seal Series Victory
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay baseball team made it four consecutive wins on Sunday, March 26 with a pair of 7-3 victories over the visiting Malone University Pioneers. Those two wins give the Oilers an 11-9 record with a 4-3 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play while Malone, which is ranked eighth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Midwest Region poll, falls to 11-10 on the year with a 2-5 mark in league action.
Malone struck first in the opener, scoring in the top of the opening inning, but in the bottom of the first, senior Aidan Lao began with a hit-by-pitch and senior Cole Kwiatkowski singled. Both came around to score on a double by freshman Casey Maruniak. The next batter, senior Nate Brooks, also doubled, putting Findlay ahead 3-1.
Findlay would not trail the Pioneers for the remainder of the day.
A home run in the bottom of the second by sophomore Austin Adelman gave the home team a 4-1 lead and, in the fourth, a wild pitch allowed Adelman, who reached on a walk, to score. A sacrifice fly by senior Cam Farrar and a Malone error off the bat of Maruniak ballooned Findlay's lead to 7-1.
Malone scored two in the sixth but it was not enough as the Oilers secured the win.
Freshman Braeden Goulet got the win on the hill, throwing five innings and allowing just one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out three of the 22 batters he faced.
In the second game of the day, Findlay stranded a runner in both the first and second innings, but in the third, finally got on the board. Lao doubled with one out and, after a hit by pitch to Kwiatkowski and a wild pitch, the Oilers had runners on second and third. A strikeout looking put two outs on the board, but a wild pitch with Maruniak at the dish allowed Lao to score, putting the Oilers ahead 1-0.
In the next inning, a double by junior Andrew Micale scored senior Kyron Rogers, who walked. A walk to freshman Keelan Daniel started the bottom of the fifth and the next batter, Aidan Lao, launched one deep over the fence in left center for a two-run blast that put the Oilers up 4-0.
Malone made a stout comeback effort in the sixth, scoring three runs in the inning to pull within one, but a pair of sixth inning home runs, off the bats of Micale and Daniel, got those three runs back and Findlay went on to another 7-3 win and secured the series victory over the Pioneers.
In the nightcap, senior Bailey McCord started and got the win as he three 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on three hits. He walked four and struck out eight. While the final stat line doesn't show it, McCord had himself a memorable outing as he threw five innings of no-hit baseball. The first knock he allowed was a home run to lead off the sixth inning.
On the day, Lao was the only Oilers' player with a trio of hits as he finished 3-for-6 in the doubleheader, all three of which went for extra bases. He hit two doubles and a home run, drove in two runs, and scored four runs to lead Findlay's offense.
Maruniak and Micale each picked up three RBI on the day, leading the team in that category.
Findlay and Malone will wrap up their series tomorrow, March 27, with a single nine-inning game that will begin at 1:00 pm.