Golden Grizzlies didn’t fare well in baseball and softball tournaments

Oakland university’s baseball and softball teams recently qualified for and competed in their perspective Horizon League tournaments. Neither team walked away with trophies, but both made good plays throughout.

Baseball fights hard into the semifinals

The Golden Grizzlies defeated Youngstown State 7-5 and 8-6 in a doubleheader on May 14 to secure a spot in the Horizon League Tournament. This marked the beginning of the team redeeming itself after a rough regular season.

The Grizzlies entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed. The tournament served as a farewell to his year’s graduating class included Pagano, Tyler Janish and Zach Sterry.

In its tournament opener, Oakland beat No. 4 seed Valpo 6-4 thanks to key-player Tyler Pagano, who went 3-for-5. The game was a turning point for the Golden Grizzlies as it was the team’s first tournament win since the 2012 season.

Following the good momentum, the team crushed No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky 12-5 on May 25. Pitcher Connor Fanning only gave two hits in the six innings he threw. Matt DiLeo and Mike McGee were also key players, scoring four runs between them. This game was also monumental for the team, it was the first time Oakland won multiple tournament games since 2000 when it was still a member of the Summit League.

Later that day, the Grizzlies fell to No. 1 seed UIC 8-0, ending the winning streak. Jake Dahlberg, UIC pitcher and Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, shutout Oakland in the seven innings he threw. With no points, the Grizzlies moved on to what would be its final game of the season.

Wright State defeated Oakland 12-4 in the semifinals round, ending Oakland’s time in the tournament. Wright State would go on to lose the championship to UIC 4-2. The game was UIC’s 39 victory of the season.

Softball

Oakland Softball started the Horizon League tournament as the No. 6 seed. The tournament ended the college careers of seniors Erin Kownacki, Sydney Hasslebach, Lydsay Hill, Lydia Peplinski, Lauren Meed, Abbey Walewski and Kaley Waalkes.

The team’s first game was against No. 3 seed Valpo. After a three-hour rain delay, the game was shortened due to heavy rain and lasted just four innings. Oakland ended up losing 1-0 with two hits.

On May 11, Oakland fell to its long-time rival, Detroit Mercy. Pitcher Kownacki pitched a solid game with five strikeouts in just over three innings. Devon Smith hit Oakland’s only run of the game in the team’s loss of 4-0.