Findlay Burns Tiffin in Friday Doubleheader
Tiffin, Ohio – The University of Findlay baseball team picked up two Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) wins on Friday, April 7, defeating the Tiffin Dragons by a score of 7-1 and 5-2 in a doubleheader. With the two wins, the Oilers improve to 14-14 on the season with a 7-7 record in conference play. The Dragons fall to 9-21 overall with a 1-13 record in the G-MAC with the two losses.
In the opener, the Oilers got to business early. Senior Aiden Lao walked to lead off the game and advanced to third on a single by senior Cole Kwiatkowski. Senior Cam Farrar then singled, putting Findlay ahead 1-0. A sac bunt by freshman Casey Maruniak Kwiatkowski and, after a fly out, Farrar stole third. He then came in to score on a single by senior Trey Bame, giving the Oilers a 3-0 lead.
Tiffin did score a single run in the bottom of the first inning, trying to keep it close at 3-1.
The second inning saw three more runs score. Junior Andrew Micale singled to start the fram and, after an error, Lao singled to load the bases. The first run scored on a fielder's choice and another scored on a ground out by Farrar. That RBI was the 110th of Farrar's career, putting him in fifth all-time at Findlay. Maruniak then singled to put the Oilers ahead 6-1.
Findlay's final run came in the third when, with two outs, freshman Keelan Daniel doubled and stole third. An error off the bat of Lao allowed Daniel to score.
The Oilers finished the opener with nine hits, one by every player in the starting lineup. Daniel's double was the lone extra base hit of the game. He would score twice in the game while Farrar and Maruniak each had a pair of RBI. Kwiatkowski scored twice in the contest, as well.
Senior Anthony Kyle was the winning pitcher and improves to 2-2 on the year as he put together a brilliant performance. Findlay's all-time strikeout leader threw 123 pitches in eight innings and allowed just one run on three hits. He walked just two and struck out nine of the 30 batters he faced.
Game two was much closer.
Tiffin took the lead in the bottom of the second thanks to an error that began the inning. However, the damage was limited as a strikeout ended the frame with two runners on base.
In the seven-inning contest, both pitchers were dealing as neither team got on the board over the two innings of play.
Findlay finally got on the board in the fifth when, with one out, Lao was hit by a pitch and advanced on a single by Kwiatkowski. A single by Farrar scored Lao and a walk to Maruniak loaded the bases. Sophomore Austin Adelman sent the second run home, putting Findlay ahead 2-1.
Tiffin would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth but in the top of the seventh, the Oilers put themselves in position to pick up the doubleheader sweep.
Kwiatkowski singled to start the inning and was followed by an error off the bat of Farrar and single by Maruniak that loaded the bases. Adelman was hit by a pitch to put Findlay ahead 3-2 and, after a putout at home, senior Kyron Rogers struck out on a pitch in the dirt, but the ball squirted away from Tiffin's catcher, allowing Rogers to reach base and another run to score.
With runners on first and third with two outs, following a strikeout, Rogers would intentionally get himself in a rundown that let Adelman score, giving Findlay a 5-2 lead.
Freshman Braeden Goulet started on the hill and threw 4.2 innings, allowing just two runs, none earned, on three hits. He struck out seven and walked four.
Senior Gavin Bailey got the win in relief as he threw 2.1 innings to finish out the contest. He did not allow a run and gave up just one hit while striking out three.
Kwiatkowski had three hits and scored two runs in the nightcap to lead Findlay's offense. Adelman had a pair of RBI on one hit and also picked up a run scored.
Findlay and Tiffin will wrap up their series tomorrow in Tiffin. That doubleheader will begin at 1:00 pm.