Oakland men’s baseball’s rough start to the season continued last Wednesday, March 5, with yet another loss, this time to the Akron Zips.
With a chance to build on a two-game winning streak, the Golden Grizzlies came up short as the Akron offense was too much to handle. The Zips used massive fourth and seventh innings to build big leads they wouldn’t relinquish.
The contest got out to a strong start as the Golden Grizzlies loaded the bases in the second inning with one out. Left fielder John Lauinger stepped up to bat and hit a groundout to the Akron shortstop, bringing home teammate Sam Griffith for the game’s first run. Unfortunately for Oakland, no more damage could be done, as right fielder Aidan Orr flew out to leftfield for the inning’s final out.
Akron responded in turn in the bottom of the second. After a leadoff walk, Caden Matlon of the Zips cranked a two-run home run off Oakland starter Ethan Glassman. Glassman worked his way out of the inning, coaxing a fly out with two men on before picking off a runner to end the frame.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning that OU would get back on the board. First baseman Carter Hain got things rolling with a single before Griffith advanced the runner with a sacrifice bunt. After a Boston Halloran flyout, center fielder Taylor Tomlin hit a clutch two-out single to bring home Hain, evening the score at two apiece. Lauinger again made good contact and earned a single, but Tomlin got caught stretching the play at home plate to end the inning.
And that’s when the floodgates opened for the Zips. Akron started the bottom of the fourth inning with a double, a single and two walks, bringing in a run and ending Glassman’s start after only three innings of work.
Reliever Drew Delcollo came in to stop the bleeding, but Akron again scored on an error by the second baseman Griffith. With the bases loaded, Jack Poist of the Zips hit a two-run double, opening the game up 6-2. After another walk, the bases were loaded yet again. Delcollo coaxed a huge double play and a flyout to end the inning, but another run was scored on the double play. With all said and done at the bottom of the fourth, Akron built a commanding 7-2 lead.
Sophomore reliever Austin Fisher got Oakland through the fifth inning with no damage done, but the Golden Grizzlies couldn’t put up any runs until the sixth. It was Hain, yet again, who got things going with leadoffwalk. Halloran would single up the middle to bring Hain in right before Tomlin earned first base with a hit-by-pitch. With two men on, Lauinger raked a double to right field, scoring Halloran and making it a 7-4 ballgame. Orr grounded out but brought in Tomlin, bringing OU back into the game with a three-run inning.
Junior Calan Kujawa couldn’t hold the Zips in the sixth, as he surrendered a run due to two hits and a hit-by-pitch. But it was against senior Stephen Ruhle that Akron did most of their damage, as in the seventh inning, they tacked on three more runs to their total. Akron just kept putting balls in play, causing havoc on the basepaths, putting pressure on the Oakland defense, and forcing Ruhle into tough spots. When the dust settled on the seventh frame, the Zips were up 11-5.
Neither team would score again in the remaining two innings.
Lauinger and Halloran both had great games, each going three for four. Lauinger led the Golden Grizzlies with two RBI’s. Going forward, the biggest key to success is getting more innings out of the OU starting pitchers. Oakland’s starters must perform better to give their coaches more room to operate with their relievers.
Next up is a sole game against the Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday, March 12.