Cedarville, Ohio – The University of Findlay baseball team continued to roll on Saturday, March 28, winning both games of a doubleheader against Cedarville University to improve its' winning streak to ten games, the longest streak of wins in program history. The Oilers showcased incredible resilience with a thrilling 8-6 comeback victory in 10 innings in the opener, followed by a dominant 11-2 rout in the second game. The two wins improve Findlay's overall record to 18-9 on the season with a 9-1 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play. Cedarville falls to 11-15 (5-5 G-MAC).
Game 1 (W 8-6 | 10 inn.)
In the first game of the day, Findlay found themselves facing a daunting 5-1 deficit heading into the final innings. However, the Oilers offense refused to quit and mounted a massive comeback in the top of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings.
Trailing 5-1, the Oilers sparked the rally when Evan Reiter drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing in Gavyn Smith to make it 5-2. Drew Tucker kept the line moving in the very next at-bat, showing great patience to draw another bases-loaded walk that brought Isaac Ramos home and cut the deficit to 5-3.
With the bases still loaded, Casey Maruniak delivered the biggest blow of the inning, lining a two-run single to left field that scored Aidan Kiessling and Mike Sciortino, tying the game at 5-5 and sending it to extra innings.
Starting pitcher Ethan Mohr turned in a solid outing to keep the Oilers in the contest, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing just two earned runs on six hits while striking out five. Sebastian Stevens eventually entered the game and earned the victory, throwing a pair of innings and allowing just one run on one hit.
Offensively, the Oilers were led by Aiden Booth, who paced the lineup with a team-high three hits in four at-bats. Isaac Ramos was a constant catalyst for the offense, going 2-for-4 while crossing the plate for a game-high three runs and adding an RBI. Casey Maruniak and Drew Tucker both delivered in clutch moments, driving in two runs apiece, with Tucker also drawing a pair of walks to reach base three times. Luke Senften was also highly productive, reaching base three times on a hit and two walks while scoring a run to help fuel the thrilling comeback victory.
Game 2 (W 11-2)
Findlay carried the momentum from their dramatic game one victory directly into the nightcap, cruising to an 11-2 blowout win. After taking an early lead, the Oilers completely broke the game open in the later innings, putting up four runs in the top of the sixth and adding another four runs in the top of the seventh to put the game entirely out of reach.
Casey Maruniak was the star of the nightcap, turning in an another monster performance at the plate. Maruniak blasted a home run, roped two doubles, and finished the game with six RBIs. With his day, Maruniak now leads the G-MAC in RBIs with 43 through just 27 games this season.
On the mound, starting pitcher Carson Mellott was as good as he has been all year, going the distance to earn the complete-game victory. Mellott allowed two runs while scattering eight hits, recording just the fourth complete game of his exceptional career while allowing only two runs to seal the sweep.
The Oilers will look to keep their 10-game winning streak alive when they return to action to play Cedarville on Monday, March 30, wrapping up the series.
