Listen Here
By Alyssa Grevenkamp
@grevenkampa
The University of Findlay baseball team dropped a non-conference game to Notre Dame Ohio on Wednesday, April 6 by a 16-5 final. With the loss, the Oilers fall to 8-13 on the season and are now on a five-game skid.
The Oilers sent nine pitchers to the mound throughout the rainy, windy game but no matter the pitcher, the Falcons were able to respond as they put up a season-high 16 runs and 18 hits.
Findlay fell behind early in the game as the first batter hit a full-count fastball over the wall in straight away center field to give the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead. Single runs in the second and third would extend that lead to 3-0.
The Orange and Black put up a fight and cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third when sophomore Cameron Johnson was hit by a pitch and later scored when sophomore Josh Schwerer blasted his first home run of the season over the wall in left center field.
Another run for Notre Dame in the fourth added to the lead, but in the sixth inning, the game was broken wide open as the Falcons pushed five runs across to make the lead 9-2.
A single run in the seventh for Findlay cut the deficit to 10-3, but a grand slam by Notre Dame in the eighth powered a six-run inning and put the game out of reach.
Freshman Alex Harter, making his first collegiate start, took the loss on the hill as he pitched 2.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He also walked two.
A stiff wind blew to center field the whole game and proved to play aid as there were five home runs hit between the two teams. Three homers by Notre Dame and two by Findlay.
The Oilers’ offense was led by Schwerer who picked up two hits, including a home run, had two RBIs and scored a run.
Johnson, senior Jordan Garcia, and sophomore Pete Burkett each picked up a pair of hits in the game while sophomore Christion Smith hit his first career home run, a two-run shot in the eighth.
Findlay will be back in action this Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17, when they take on Tiffin University in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series set to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
