Findlay, Ohio - The University of Findlay baseball team was back at Fifth Third Field for the first time this season on Tuesday, Mar. 11, taking on Saginaw Valley State University in a midweek doubleheader. The Oilers would take the first game of the day by a score of 11-6, before falling 5-6 in a 14 inning marathon in the second game of the day. With the split, Findlay's record now stands at 7-8. Meanwhile SVSU sees their record stand at 10-5.
Game 1 (11-6)
In the first game of the day, there was certainly no shortage of offense. The Oilers would set the tone in the first inning, putting up nine runs in the bottom half. Findlay would benefit from some early command issues from the Cardinals, but the real blow would come from
Nick Palm, who clubbed a grand slam over the right field wall for his first collegiate homer.
Looking to claw back into the game, SVSU would do just that, scoring five runs in the top of the fifth on three hits and some extra help from two Oilers errors.
Looking to expand on their lead, the Oilers would add one run in the bottom of the second by way of a Palm sacrifice fly, along with one more in the fifth from a
Luke Senften solo shot. Just like Palm's in the first inning, this also marks the first collegiate home run for Senften.
Freshman
Camdon Tuttle would pitch the final two innings of play to close out the game, allowing no runs and just one hit, while also striking out two.
Dylan Rouse would earn the win on the mound, as he would strike out three in his two innings of work.
Game 2 (5-6)
The second game of the day turned out to be a true marathon, lasting nearly five hours and going 14 innings. In the game, the Cardinals would have 23 players enter the game while the Oilers would have 26 different players on the field during the contest. The game would have 11 total runs on 23 hits and nine errors, with seven of these errors coming from the Oilers.
The Oilers would go into the ninth inning up 4-2, looking to close the door was junior
Aiden Weiland. After loading the bases up, the Cardinals would get within one after grounding into a double play up the middle. Down to their last out, an infield single would bring in the tying run to make it knotted up at four.
Fast forward to the top of the 12th inning, the Cardinals would drive home the go ahead run after getting an extra opportunity due to a dropped fly ball in foul territory from the Oilers. Findlay, however, would respond in the bottom half of the inning with some two out magic of their own. Sophomore
Tyler Ray, who came in to catch in the top of the 11th, laced his first career hit right back up the middle to drive in
Ryan Thompson and tie the game up at five.
The dagger would come in the top of the 14th inning, as
Colin Becker, who was able to dance out of danger in the previous inning for the Oilers, could not hold the SVSU offense again and saw a double give the Cardinals a one run lead once more. The Oilers would lead off the bottom half with a
Casey Maruniak single, but unfortunately after stealing both second and third with one out, he would be thrown out at home attempting to tag on a fly ball from
Michael Russ. This double play from the Cardinals would result in a 14 inning heartbreaking loss for the Oilers.
Quick Stats
Casey Maruniak would tie his own record in game two of the doubleheader, recording four stolen bases in the contest. The junior is now a perfect 14-14 in stolen base attempts on the year, and raises his career total to 49.
The game truly proved to be a marathon, lasting for four hours and 45 minutes. This game marks the sixth longest game in program history.
Up Next
The Oilers will be back in action on Friday, Mar 14, as they travel to Owensboro to take on Kentucky Wesleyan for their first conference series of the year. First pitch for the opening contest is currently scheduled for 1 pm.
