Findlay Picks Up Two Wins vs Scrappy KWC Squad
Owensboro, Kentucky – The University of Findlay softball team extended its winning streak to double-digits on Saturday, April 9 with a pair of come-from-behind wins on the road against Kentucky Wesleyan College. The Oilers won the opener 7-2 and took the finale by a score of 3-1, giving the Orange and Black 11 consecutive victories and 13 wins in their previous 14 games. It is the first time that the Oilers have won 11 games in a row since 2013.
With the two victories, the Oilers are now 25-9 overall and have a 9-1 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play. KWC falls to 10-26 overall and 3-5 in the G-MAC with the two losses.
Over the course of the past couple of weeks, Findlay has not found itself trailing very often. But tonight, both games had a similar feel, and that began right away in the opener.
KWC got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second innings that came on four consecutive hits. Findlay answered with a single run in the third when Bailey Bates, who singled to start the inning, scored on a groundout by Megan Demler. However, the tie game did not last long as the Panthers picked up another single run in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead.
Findlay struggled over the next three innings, picking up just one hit in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings combined.
The seventh began when junior Olivia Carlton and junior Makayla Cowan both reached on errors to put runners on second and third with now outs. An infield single by Bailey Bates loaded the bases and, after a strikeout, Demler walked to tie the game at 2-2. Findlay took the lead on a sacrifice fly by senior Lexie Hilling and, after a stolen base by Demler, extended that lead with a two-run single to center by senior Caroline Turner, who has been red hot over the past week. The scoring frenzy was capped with a two-run home run off the bat of freshman Brooke Radermacher, putting the Oilers ahead 7-2.
KWC did get two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but they were both stranded as the Oilers went on to win its' tenth consecutive game.
In the game, Findlay scored seven runs on seven hits and made one error while the Panthers scored two runs on seven hits and made two errors.
Demler got the win and improved to 10-3 on the year as she threw a complete game, scattering seven hits. She allowed two earned runs, walked two, and struck out six.
Bailey Bates was the only Oiler with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and two runs scored. Radermacher, Turner, and Demler all had two RBI in the game with Demler and Radermacher each picking up a run scored.
The nightcap was not exactly smooth either as the Oilers battled KWC, needing all seven innings to secure the victory.
The Panthers scored one run in the third to take a lead, meanwhile through three innings, the Oilers had left four runners on base.
Findlay finally broke through in the fifth. Sophomore Avery Shepherd got a one-out single and was followed by a ground out, moving her to third. Trailing by one late in the game, the Oilers relied on an aspect of its' game that, this season, has been a big part of why they are the best offense in the G-MAC. With two outs, Lexie Hilling went deep over the wall in left field, the team's league-leading 35th home run of the year, putting the Oilers in the lead 2-1.
The Oilers scraped another run across in the sixth when Radermacher, who had an infield single to start the inning, scored on a fielder's choice.
Hilling then set the Panthers down in order in the bottom of the seventh to pick up the save and give Findlay its 11th consecutive victory.
Freshman Emma Jones picked up the victory to improve to 5-0. She tossed four innings and allowed one run, none earned, on four hits. She walked two and struck out one. Lexie Hilling got her first save of the year as she threw the final three innings while allowing just a single hit and striking out four.
Hilling had a pair of hits and two RBI in the game while Radermacher continued her strong debut season with two hits and a run scored.
The Oilers return home on April 15 and 16 with doubleheaders against Malone and Trevecca Nazarene, respectively.