Demler's Six Hits Lead Oilers in Sweep of Ursuline
Pepper Pike, Ohio – The University of Findlay softball team, ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Midwest Regional rankings, continued to roll through its Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) competition on Friday, April 22. The Oilers hit the road to take on Ursuline College and came away with a pair of wins to improve to 31-9 on the year and 15-1 in conference, extending its' winning streak to 17 in the process.
The top offense in the conference got off to a fast start, as seniors Megan Demler and Lexie Hilling reached with a walk and single, respectively. Demler came around to score on a double to right center by senior Caroline Turner and Hilling scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman Brooke Radermacher. Those runs gave Findlay an early 2-0 lead.
In the top of the second, junior Olivia Carlton hit a one out double and, after a pop up, Makala Cowan walked. Leadoff hitter Avery Shepherd then laced a triple to right field, sending Carlton and Cowan home. Demler followed that up with a triple of her own to put the Oilers ahead 5-0 through two innings.
Lead 5-1 in the top of the fourth, the Oilers blew the game wide open, increasing their run total even further. Cowan and Demler each had RBI singles with one out before Caroline Turner picked up her second extra-base hit of the game, a two-RBI double to left center making the score 9-1.
The Oilers plated three more runs in the top of the fifth when senior Devyn Zuro and freshman Alissa Davis singled with one out. After a flyout, Demler hit her sixth home run of the season, a three-run blast that made the score 12-1, the eventual final.
Demler picked up the win to improve to 14-3 on the season. She threw 4.0 innings and allowed one run, none earned, while giving up four hits and walking one. She struck out three and is now just five strikeouts shy of the program record for career strikeouts.
She was also the offensive standout as she went a perfect 3-for-3, coming up a double shy of the cycle. Demler scored three runs and had five RBI to help her own cause.
Caroline Turner had a pair of doubles and three RBI while Shepherd had one hit, two runs, and two RBI.
The success continued in the nightcap with the Orange and Black scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Avery Shepherd, Megan Demler, and Lexie Hilling all singled to load the bases with no outs to open the game. A fielder's choice off the bat of Caroline Turner sent Shepherd home to give the Oilers a lead. After a flyout, Cowan singled to left to send Demler home. Findlay did leave the bases loaded in the inning as a strikeout and foul out ended the threat.
The game remained at 2-0 until the fifth inning. Demler singled with one out and went to third on a double by Hilling. An infield single made the score 3-0. Cowan then had an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Bailey Bates, who leads the conference in hit-by-pitches, was hit and given a free base to start the sixth. Back-to-back groundouts nearly had the threat ended, but a single by Demler, her sixth hit of the doubleheader, made the score 5-0.
Ursuline did score a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh and had two runners on base, but freshman Emma Jones entered the game with one out and struck out the final two batters to end the game and extend the Oilers' streak.
Demler had three more hits in the game, all singles. She also scored two runs and had an RBI. Hilling, Turner, and Cowan all had two hits. Turner had a run scored and two RBI while Cowan had two RBI.
Lexie Hilling picked up the win, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing two runs, just one of which was earned. She scattered six hits and picked up two strikeouts in the win.
The Oilers will be back in action tomorrow, April 23. Staying in the northeast Ohio area, Findlay will play Lake Erie in Painesville, Ohio in a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm.