Charleston, W. Va. - The University of Findlay baseball team was back in action on Sunday, Mar. 2 for the back half of their series against the University of Charleston. In two very close games, the Oilers would ultimately fall short and drop both. With the two losses, Findlay sees their record drop to 5-5 on the year. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles have now won three in a row and raise their record to 4-9.
Game 1 (2-3)
With both teams looking to come out hot after the split the day before, Charleston was able to do just that, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The runs would be a product of four Golden Eagle hits in the inning.
After the three spot given up in the first inning, Findlay pitcher
Carson Mellott would settle in, as he would pitch the remainder of the game giving up no runs. He would finish the day with three earned runs, four walks, and five strikeouts in his six innings of work.
Despite the efforts of Mellott, the Oilers would be unable to climb out of the three run hole. They would add one in the fifth from a sacrifice fly from
Austin Adelman and another in the sixth by way of a
Keelan Daniel RBI single, but a game-ending double play would leave the tying runner on second base in the final inning of play.
Game 2 (7-11)
With runs hard to come by in the first game of the day, the second game proved to be quite the opposite. As a result of an abundance of hits and errors by both sides, the game would be a high scoring affair.
The Golden Eagles would once again get on the board first, with a run in the third and two more in the fourth they were able to get out to an early 3-0 advantage.
The Oilers would put together some runs of their own in the next inning, as an RBI single from
Nick Palm gave them their first run of the game. The very next batter,
Luke Senften would drive in another after reaching on a fielder's choice, but in the very same play Oilers' freshman
Garrett Given would be thrown out at home trying to take an extra base, preventing a tie ball game.
Aided by some miscues from the Oiler outfield, Charleston would add four more runs in the bottom of the fifth, giving them a five run cushion. However, the Oilers would come right back in the top of sixth and add four runs of their own, this time from the benefit of two errors coming from the Golden Eagle infield.
Unfortunately for the Orange and Black, Charleston's hot bats continued to catch fire and they would add three runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Some notables from the day for the Oilers was Daniel, who had a team high four hits on the day.
Casey Maruniak also had a strong showing, tallying two hits and four stolen bases, bringing his season total to ten on the year.
Up Next
The Oilers will be back in action next weekend to conclude non-conference play, as they travel to Greensburg, Pa. to take on Seton Hill University. The first game will be on Saturday, Mar. 2, with first pitch slated for noon.
