Canton, Ohio – The Malone Pioneers finally put up a fight in the series finale, but it was still not enough as the University of Findlay baseball team earned a four-game sweep of their Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) opponent on Sunday, April 7. The Oilers shut out Malone for a third consecutive time in the first game of the day, winning 6-0, before earning a hard-fought 4-3 victory in the last game of the weekend. With those wins, Findlay is now 19-13 overall and holds a 13-4 mark in the conference, giving them the most conference wins of any team in the league. Malone, on the other hand, continues to struggle, falling to 4-28 overall and now boasting a record of 1-16 in the league.
Findlay made some history on the weekend, earning three consecutive shutouts for the first time in program history. It is also the first time the Oilers have shutout a single opponent in three-consecutive games since doing so against Gannon University in 2005. The Oilers allowed just three runs in the series, one run more than the program record for runs allowed in a four-game set. That mark of just two runs came in 2012 against Grand Valley State University.
Game 1 (W 6-0)
On Saturday, Findlay jumped out early to take control, but on Sunday, the Orange and Black would not score until the top of the fourth inning. That first run came when senior Nate Brooks, who reached on a single with one out, came around to score on a double by sophomore Casey Maruniak. Another run was scored that frame on a sacrifice fly by senior Andrew Micale.
In the top of the fifth, senior Cole Kwiatkowski led off with his second triple of the year and scored on an RBI single by senior Cam Farrar. Later, a wild pitch allowed sophomore Keelan Daniel, who reached on a hit-by-pitch, to score.
Already leading 4-0, the Oilers tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a two-RBI single by senior Aiden Lao.
Malone went down quietly in its' final two at-bats, ending the game.
Sophomore Carson Mellott picked up his fourth win of the season as he tossed six innings, giving up just four hits and no runs. He walked two and struck out one.
Game 2 (W 4-3)
It took until the series finale for the Pioneers to show any signs of life. Findlay did use a first-inning double by Brooks to take a 1-0 lead, but for the first time on the weekend, Malone scored, picking up two runs in the bottom of the first to take its' first lead of the series.
That was short lived, however, as two runs in the next half-inning by Findlay, and a run in the third made the score 4-2. Those runs came on a single by Kwiatkowski and a double by Micale, respectively.
The two-run cushion was just enough. A home run in the eighth by the Pioneers made the game interesting at 4-3, but senior closer Sebastian Jones slammed the door shut in the ninth to secure the win.
Freshman Aidan Kiessling got the start and threw 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out five. Freshman Colin Becker picked up the win, tossing 2.1 innings of relief and allowing just two hits. He struck out three. Jones earned the two-inning save, his third of the year.
On the day, freshman Nick Palm had three hits, including two doubles, and two runs scored while Kwiatkowski had two hits, including a triple, two runs, and an RBI. Lao tallied three hits and two RBI.
The Oilers will be back in action on Wednesday, April 10 for a doubleheader at Tiffin. First pitch for those games will be at 1:00 pm.
