Louisville, Ky. – Just three days into February, the University of Findlay softball team kicked off their season on a sunny afternoon in Louisville, Ky. with games against Ferris State University and Bellarmine University. The Oilers lost the first game by a score of 9-1 and dropped the nightcap 6-1 to begin their season with an 0-2 record.

Game vs Ferris St. | L 9-1 (Box Score)

The Oilers' first hit of the season came in the top of the second inning when junior Rebecca Harvey laced a singled down the right field line. She would be left stranded, but Findlay was able to score in the third. Junior Lauren Linn walked to start the inning and after a sacrifice bunt moved her to second, Linn was replaced with pinch runner, sophomore Savannah Harvey. With two outs, sophomore Dylan Wiley hit a ball to first base that was misplayed, allowing Wiley to reach via the error and scoring Harvey which gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead.

Findlay had a chance to extend their lead in the fourth after a pair of two-out singles put runners on first and second, but a strikeout ended the threat.

From that point on the game was controlled by the Bulldogs who scored three runs in the fifth and added six in the sixth to hand the Oilers the loss in their first contest of the year.

In the game, junior Rebecca Harvey, sophomore Devyn Zuro, and freshman Lyndsey Seamon, who started as the designated player in her Findlay debut, each had hits for the Orange and Black.

Senior Hailey Bryan got the start in the circle for Findlay and tossed four innings and held the Bulldogs to just four hits and a single run. She struck out three and walked two in the final season-opener of her career.

 Sophomore Megan Fisher took the loss in the game as she tossed one inning and allowed five runs, four earned, on three hits. She struck out one and walked two. Freshman Lyndsey Seamon got a pair of outs in the sixth but allowed three runs which was enough for the Bulldogs to end the game early.

Game vs Bellarmine | L 6-1 (Box Score)

Bellarmine would get the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a pair of walks to the Knights' first two hitters and a one-out error that allowed two runs to score.

Findlay answered in the fourth inning with a two out RBI single off the bat junior Allison Brunner to make the score 3-1.

The Knights came back and asserted themselves over the next three innings as they scored one in the bottom of the fourth, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth.

Both teams finished with six hits in the game while Findlay had two errors and Bellarmine had one.

Freshman Caroline Turner was the lone Oilers player with multiple hits, finishing with two including a double. She also had a run scored.

Sophomore Caragyn Yanek started in the circle and threw 3.1 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits. She struck out four and walked two.

Findlay is now off until February 22 when they have a double-header in Rosemont, Illinois, taking on Missouri S&T and Illinois Springfield.