Oilers Fall in G-MAC Tournament Opener
Mason, Ohio – The University of Findlay baseball team participated on the first day of the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Baseball Championship on Wednesday, May 10 at Prasco Park. Findlay, seeded fifth, took on the fourth seed, the Hillsdale College Chargers in the afternoon contest on Legacy Field and came up short, dropping the contest in walk off fashion by a score of 7-6. With that loss, the Oilers, now 29-21, drop into the consolation bracket while Hillsdale, now 26-24, moves on in the winner's bracket.
Findlay, making their first appearance at the conference tournament since 2018, got things started quickly in the top of the first, scoring a trio of runs. After two quick outs, senior Cam Farrar was hit by a pitch and freshman Casey Maruniak doubled to right, putting runners on second and third. Senior Nate Brooks then cracked a ball deep to center field and came around to score on an inside-the-park home run, putting Findlay ahead 3-0.
Hillsdale scored single runs in the bottom of the first and the bottom of the third to pull within 3-2 through three innings.
Both squads went 1-2-3 in the fourth and fifth innings as each of the starting pitchers settled into their tournament opener.
In the sixth, the Oilers struck again. Senior Aiden Lao hit a single to left to leadoff the inning. It was the 66th of the season for Lao who is now just two hits shy of tying Findlay's single-season hits record. Lao stole second and then came in to score on a single by senior Cole Kwiatkowski.
Leading 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, the Oilers finally gave way to a crooked number. Hillsdale plated three runs, all with two outs, to take control of the game at 6-4 with Findlay facing it's final at-bat in the top of the ninth.
The Oilers responded as the first two batters of the inning reached via a hit-by-pitch and a fielding error. A sacrifice bunt by senior Kyron Rogers moved both runners up and a clutch one-out single by senior Christian Orr tied the game at 6-6. A double play ended the inning, but Findlay had done its' job.
In the bottom of the ninth, the first Hillsdale batter of the inning was walked and a sac bunt advanced him to second. Following an intentional walk to set up the double play, the Chargers got their big hit, a single that sent the winning run home and the Hillsdale dugout into a frenzy.
Senior Anthony Kyle started on the hill and threw 7.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out four. Senior Gavin Bailey came out of the bullpen and suffered the loss, tossing 0.2 innings and giving up two runs on two hits.
The Oilers finished with five hits including a pair of extra-base hits, the double by Maruniak and home run by Brooks.
Findlay will now take on the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers tomorrow, Thursday, May 11 at 11:00 am at Prasco Park in an elimination game. Links to stats and the G-MAC Network Broadcast will be posted on the G-MAC Baseball Championship website.