Oilers Win Two to Open G-MAC Tournament | Set Program Record for Wins
Findlay, Ohio – After a heartbreaking pair of losses last weekend, the University of Findlay softball team, seeded third, came ready to play as it opened up the 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Softball Tournament being held in Findlay at the Marathon Diamonds. The Oilers, which earlier in the season went on an 18-game winning streak, won two games on Thursday's opening day of the tournament, defeating sixth-seeded Ursuline by a score of 4-0 in the opener and then took down the two seed, Ohio Dominican, by a score of 2-1 in the second contest.
Thursday's wins mark first time since the 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament that the Oilers had opened a conference championship tournament with a pair of wins. That season ended in the consolation bracket final.
The two wins also give Findlay a 36-12 record on the season, officially making the 2022 Oilers softball team the winningest in program history, surpassing the record of 35 wins that had been set 35 years ago in 1987. That was just the third season of Findlay softball as the program made its' debut in 1985.
Game 1 (W 4-0 vs (6) Ursuline)
Taking on a team with just 13 wins on the year, the Oilers were a heavy favorite in the opening round of the event. The Ursuline Arrows threw that out the window and gave Findlay all it could handle on Thursday.
Findlay began the game with a pair of singles, one by sophomore Avery Shepherd and one by senior Megan Demler, both of whom were named all-conference during a ceremony between the first and second rounds of games. Both runners were stranded, however, as a double-play and a lineout ended the threat.
The second inning was similar as a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs, but a fielder's choice ended the inning without any runs being scored.
The Oilers finally got on the board in the bottom of the third. Shepherd walked and stole second to start the inning and, after a pair of groundouts, senior Caroline Turner laced a double to left field, giving Findlay a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, senior Megan Demler was throwing a gem in the circle, allowing just one hit through the first five innings of action. With that performance by Demler, the Oilers offense knew it did not need much more to put the game away.
In the bottom of the fourth, Devyn Zuro was hit by a pitch and Demler walked, giving the Oilers two on with two out. Again, Caroline Turner doubled, sending two runners home and giving Findlay some breathing room with a 3-0 lead. Later in the inning, a single by senior Kyla Snow plated yet another run for a 4-0 advantage to the Oilers, which would ultimately end up being the final.
Demler, who had two strikeouts in the game, was brilliant in the circle for Findlay as the threw a complete game, the 37th of her career and the 16th of this season. The Arrows managed just two hits and a walk off of Findlay's all-time strikeout leader.
Offensively, Caroline Turner was the hero, picking up a pair of doubles and three RBI in the victory. Shepherd chipped in out of the leadoff spot, picking up a pair of hits, a walk, and two runs scored.
Game 2 (W 2-1 vs (2) Ohio Dominican)
Moving into the second round of the winner's bracket, the Oilers were poised for a matchup with the second-seeded Ohio Dominican Panthers which, because of the new six-team format, had an opening round bye.
Like the game against Ursuline, both Findlay and Ohio Dominican leaned on solid pitching in the first couple of innings. The Oilers had first-team all-G-MAC selection Lexie Hilling in the circle while the Panthers were leaning on the arm of the league's Pitcher of the Year, Sydney Long.
In the bottom of the second, Ohio Dominican led off with a pair of singles and looked like it could take control of the game early, but Hilling secured back-to-back strikeouts and coaxed a lineout to end the threat.
The next half inning, Devyn Zuro hit an infield single with a line drive off the pitchers glove. The next batter, Avery Shepherd, ripped a ball into the left field corner, sending Zuro home and giving the Oilers a 1-0 advantage.
Hilling's lone mistake on the day was to the first batter in the bottom of the fourth when she left a pitch in the heart of the zone, a ball that was hit over the wall in right to tie the game.
That lead was short lived.
In the fifth, it was Findlay's turn to leadoff an inning with some fireworks. Freshman Brooke Radermacher, who was named second-team all-conference today, went deep over the fence left field to send the Oilers' dugout into a frenzy and putting Findlay back in control of the contest.
Hilling went back out and shut down the Panthers' potent lineup. ODU went down in order in the fifth, got a walk in the sixth, and a walk in the seventh, but none of it added up to a run as the Oilers moved on to a perfect 2-0 start to the tournament.
Hilling earned the win, her 11th of the season, by throwing a complete game and allowing just one run on four hits. She struck out six and walked two. It was the fourth start that Hilling had allowed one or less earned runs and the second time this season she had struck out six in a game, her season-high.
Radermacher had a pair of hits including the big home run while Shepherd and Kaitlynn Briggs each had a double.
Findlay is set to battle the fourth-seeded Trevecca Nazarene Trojans next. The Trojans mirrored the Oilers on the opposite side of the bracket, defeating (5) Tiffin in the first round and then coming back with an upset of the league's regular-season champion and top seeded Hillsdale College in the second round. Findlay and Trevecca were scheduled to play tomorrow morning, but that will change as the remaining pair of games that were supposed to be played on Thursday were postponed.
As schedules are updated for Findlay's games, the game times can be found by visiting the Oilers' schedule page.