Mason, Ohio- The University of Findlay baseball team's championship run in the 2024 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Baseball Tournament ended in the consolation quarterfinal, Thursday, May 9. The Oilers fell in their first game of the day against the Tiffin Dragons before dropping the nightcap against the Northwood Timberwolves in an elimination game. With the losses, Findlay falls to 28-22 on the year.
Game One vs. Tiffin (L 9-5)
Playing in the second round of the winner's bracket, the third-seeded Oilers faced the seventh-seeded Dragons in Pool A. Tiffin got on the board first putting up two runs in the top of the second followed by a single run in the top of the third to get an early 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Findlay was able to push two runs through thanks to back-to-back singles from senior Cam Farrar and Nate Brooks. The Dragons would answer right back adding two runs of their own in the top of the fourth to grow their lead to 5-2.
An error by Findlay in the top of the fifth led to another run for Tiffin to bring the score to 6-2. The Dragons then took their largest lead in the top of the sixth at 8-2.
In Findlay's half of the sixth, the Oilers would send nine batters to the plate as three runs would score to narrow the deficit to 8-5. The inning was highlighted by senior Andrew Micale's double to left center which scored freshman Luke Senften and sophomore Casey Maruniak. Micale was later sent home by a sacrifice fly by senior Aiden Lao.
With the score at 8-5 in favor of the Green and Gold, the Dragons would add a run in the top of the seventh which would ultimately be the final run of the contest, sealing a 9-5 victory for Tiffin.
Sophomore Ethan Mohr would take the loss on the mound for Findlay. He threw four innings, allowing five runs on nine hits. He struck out two and walked two. He was relieved by senior William Rouse who went two innings for the Orange and Black. He allowed three runs on three hits. Sophomore Colin Becker threw the final three innings giving up two hits and a run.
Micale led Findlay's offense, going 2-of-5 from the plate. He recorded a team-high, two RBI. Maruniak also had two hits in the contest. Lao, Brooks, and Farrar all recorded an RBI in the contest.
Game Two vs. Northwood (L 10-4)
With their seasons on the line, the second-seeded Northwood Timberwolves faced the third-seeded Findlay Oilers. The Timberwolves got on the board first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Findlay answered back in the top of the third thanks to a double to left field by senior Cole Kwiatkowski which sent freshman Nick Palm home. On the Timberwolves' side of the same inning, a two-run home run gave the defending G-MAC Champions a 4-1 advantage.
The Oilers kept the game tight putting two runs up in the top of the four to cut Northwood's lead down to just one. Those runs came from a single by Palm followed by a walk by senior Aiden Lao which forced freshman Luke Senften home.
Northwood scored single runs in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings to bring the score to 6-3 in their favor. In what would be their final run of the game, senior Cam Farrar was sent home on a sacrifice fly by Senften.
The Timberwolves sealed the contest with back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the 10-4 win and send the Oilers home.
Findlay recorded four runs on seven hits while Northwood scored ten runs on thirteen hits. Both teams committed an error. The Oilers left ten on base in the contest, two innings that saw the bases loaded.
Taking the loss for Findlay was sophomore Carson Mellott. He threw six innings giving up ten hits and six runs. He struck out a career-high twelve and walked just one. He was relieved by senior Sebastian Jones who gave up three hits and four runs in the final two innings of the game.
Seven Oilers recorded a hit in the contest while Lao, Kwiatkowski, Senften, and Palm recorded an RBI each. The night was highlighted by Kwiatkowski's double to left field.
The two defeats wrap up the 2024 campaign for Findlay with a 28-22 record overall. It is the first time that the program has logged back-to-back winning records since 1995-1996 as the program continues to be on the rise.
