Tiffin, Ohio – The University of Findlay baseball team wrapped up a four-game series with a doubleheader today in Tiffin, Ohio at Heidelberg University, splitting the day's contests with Gannon University. The Oilers, who won three of the four games, won the first game by a commanding score of 17-5 before falling 7-3 in the second game. The split brings Findlay's overall record to 8-8 on the season, while Gannon moves to 5-6.
Game 1 (W 17-5)
In the opener, the Findlay offense put on a clinic, capitalizing on five Gannon errors and exploding for 17 runs on 11 hits to secure a massive 17-5 victory in the seven inning game.
The Oilers jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning and added three more in the second. After pushing across four runs in the fourth and a single run in the fifth, Findlay put the game completely out of reach with a spectacular seven-run barrage in the bottom of the sixth inning.
During that explosive sixth inning, Mike Sciortino drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the first run. Nick Palm then delivered a two-run single to left-center, followed immediately by an RBI single to right-center from Keelan Daniel. Casey Maruniak provided the exclamation point for the frame, launching a three-run home run to left field that pushed the Findlay advantage to 17-5.
The high-powered offense was complemented by solid pitching. Starting pitcher Aidan Kiessling (1-3) earned his first win of the season, tossing 4.2 innings while allowing four earned runs on eight hits. Sebastian Stevens was very good in relief as the lefty threw the final 2.1 innings and allowed just one run on one hit while striking out three batters to close out the game.
Offensively, the Oilers received contributions up and down the lineup. Nick Palm led the charge from the top, going 2-for-3 with four runs scored, a walk, and three RBIs. Keelan Daniel was also stellar, finishing 2-for-2 with two runs scored, three walks, and an RBI. Casey Maruniak and Luke Senften each drove in three runs, with Senften adding a double and Maruniak providing the late three-run blast. Mike Sciortino, Mason Myers, and Isaac Ramos were constant factors on the basepaths, combining to score six runs.
Game 2 (L 7-3)
In the second game of the day, Gannon bounced back to hand Findlay a 7-3 defeat. The Golden Knights took control early, jumping ahead with a huge four-run top of the second inning.
Findlay attempted to chip away at the deficit, breaking onto the scoreboard with a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning and adding two more in the fifth to cut into the lead. However, Gannon responded with two insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning to seal the victory.
In the loss, Aiden Booth recorded a pair of hits and a run scored for the Oilers while Mason Myers and Nick Palm each had a hit and scored a run.
Findlay hits the road for its' first Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) series of the year on Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15, heading to Malone University.
