Findlay Drops Two on Wednesday in Winter Haven
Winter Haven, Fla. - The University of Findlay softball team lost both games on Wednesday, March 2 in Winter Haven, Fla. The Oilers dropped game one to Nova Southeastern by a score of 7-4 and followed that up with a 9-3 loss at the hands of the University of Bridgeport. With the two losses the Oilers fall to 8-5 on the season and have four games remaining in Florida.
Game 1 (Box Score)
The Oilers got behind early in the day's opener as Nova exploded for five runs in the second inning to take command of the game, but in the fourth inning, with two runners on base, senior Devyn Zuro blasted an 0-2 pitch deep over the wall in center field for a three-run blast that pulled Findlay to within two.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Sharks of Nova Southeastern added a pair of runs on three hits and an error to take back a 7-3 lead.
A solo home run in the top of the fifth by freshman Brooke Radermacher made the score 7-4, but it was not enough as Nova went on to the win.
Findlay finished the game with four runs on six hits and made four errors while Nova Southeastern scored seven runs on ten hits and made just two errors.
Zuro was the big bat in the game, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored.
McKenzie Anderson took the loss in the circle as she tossed five innings and allowed seven runs, one earned, on nine hits. She walked one and did not record a strikeout.
The second contest had a similar feel as unearned runs would haunt the Oilers.
Bridgeport took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but a two-run home run by senior Megan Demler gave the Oilers the lead through the first frame.
Both teams were scoreless for the next two innings, and in the fourth, disaster struck for Findlay. Bridgeport's first batter of the inning flew out and, after the bases were loaded, a runner was thrown out at the plate to record the second out with no runs scored. An error then allowed two runs to score, but led to much more. By inning's end, Bridgeport had scored eight runs, all unearned, and had blown the game open, taking a 9-2 lead.
Findlay scored a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning but went scoreless over the final three innings to suffer another tough defeat.
Demler went 3-for-4 in the contest and had a home run, a double, two RBI, and a run scored. She was the only player for Findlay with multiple hits in the contest.
Lexie Hilling took the loss in the circle, allowing eight runs, all unearned, on seven hits. She walked one and struck out three.
Findlay is back at it tomorrow, March 3 when they take on University of the Sciences in the morning followed by a matchup with Mary University.