Oilers Lead for 12 of 14 Innings | Split with SVSU
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay softball team welcomed the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals to Anderson Field on Thursday, March 16 for a doubleheader. Saginaw won the first contest by a score of 5-2, but the Oilers took victory in the finale by a score of 9-6. With the split, the Oilers are now 14-5 while the Cardinals' record moves to 16-4.
Of the 14 innings played, Findlay was tied or held a lead at the end of 13 of them. Despite that effort, the day ended in a 1-1 record on the day.
The Oilers had control in the first game as they scored a pair of runs behind a solid pitching effort. Findlay's first run came in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI ground out by sophomore Brooke Radermacher, scoring freshman Annika Bredel.
A 2-0 lead for the home team came in the bottom of the third when senior Olivia Carlton smoked a two out double to right center, scoring junior Avery Shepherd who reached on a dropped fly ball by the left fielder.
With a 2-0 lead, the Oilers needed three outs in the top of the seventh to secure the victory. A groundout started the inning, but back-to-back errors by the OIlers' defense put runners on first and second. A single loaded the bases and a double plated all three, putting the Cardinals ahead 3-2. Two more runs would score before the end of the inning and, despite a double in the seventh, Findlay went on to suffer a three-run defeat.
Freshman Kayla Dykin was the tough-luck loser in the circle for the Oilers. She tossed 6.1 innings and allowed five runs, none earned, on four hits. She walked five and struck out six.
The pitchers' dual saw Findlay end the game with just four hits, three of which were doubles. Those came off the bats of Shepherd, Carlton, and Radermacher. The other hit was a single by senior Caroline Turner.
In the nightcap, Findlay again took an early lead. After a run by the Cardinals in the top of the first, the Oilers needed just one hit and took advantage of four walks to score three runs and take a 3-1 lead.
That lead expanded in the second when the Orange and Black got a spark from Radermacher who launched a ball over the wall and just inside the left field foul pole, a three-run homerun that put her team up 6-1. After Bredel was hit by a pitch, Dykin hit a double to right, putting Findlay up 7-1.
The Cardinals would close the gap to 7-4, but single runs in the fifth and sixth gave the Oilers a five-run cushion with three outs to play.
SVSU gave Findlay a scare, scoring a pair of runs, but a pop out and fly out ended the contest, giving the home team a split on the day.
Findlay's next games will be on the road on Wednesday, March 22 against Wayne State.