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Box Score 2
Midland, Mich. – The University of Findlay baseball team ran into a buzzsaw on Sunday, April 2 as they dropped the first of two doubleheaders against the newest member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), the Northwood University Timberwolves. The Oilers dropped the opener by a score of 11-4 and then fell in the nightcap by a score of 10-5. With the losses, Findlay falls to 12-12 on the year with a 5-5 mark in conference play while Northwood improves to 18-8 overall and remains unbeaten in the league at 10-0.
In the opener, Northwood took a quick 2-0 lead with back-to-back home runs to lead off the second inning. Findlay answered in the third when junior Andrew Micale singled to lead off the top of the third, the Oilers' first player to reach base on Sunday. After a walk, bunt single, and strikeout, senior Cole Kwiatkowski walked with the bases loaded, scoring Micale. Later, with two outs, freshman Casey Maruniak singled through the left side for a pair of RBI, putting the Oilers ahead 3-2.
From then on it was all Northwood as the Timberwolves bludgeoned the Oilers to the tune of seven unanswered runs, taking a 9-3 lead through seven innings.
A solo home run in the eighth by senior Cam Farrar was too little, too late as the G-MAC's northern-most team went on to an 11-4 victory.
Senior Anthony Kyle started on the hill for Findlay and tossed 5.1 innings, allowing seven runs, six earned, on nine hits, including three solo home runs. He walked two and struck out six.
Game two quickly went in favor of the Timberwolves, who after Sunday's games, now lead the G-MAC in home runs as a team. Northwood scored the first seven runs of the day's finale, capping that stretch with a two-run blast in the bottom of the second.
A pair of home runs in the game by Farrar were the only bright spot for Findlay in the second contest. Farrar's second home run of the game came in the fifth inning and made the score 8-5, pulling Findlay within striking distance, but a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth by Northwood stretched the differential to five, making it 10-5, the eventual final score.
Freshman Braeden Goulet was the starter on the mound for the Oilers and fell to 1-2 on the year with a rough outing, throwing 1.2 innings and giving up seven runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out one.
On the day, Farrar was the hot stick as he picked up four hits in eight at-bats, three of which were home runs. He tallied five RBI and three runs scored. With the three home runs today, Farrar now has 25 in his career which is the most in program history, passing Ryan O'Malley who hit 23 home runs from 2018-2022.
Senior Aiden Lao picked up three hits and an RBI while freshman Keelan Daniel had two hits, including a double, and two runs scored.
Findlay will wrap up their four-game set with Northwood tomorrow, April 3, with two games beginning at 12:00 pm.
