Last Tuesday, March 25, the Oakland University men’s baseball team continued its strong homestand with a dominant win over the University of Akron Zips. The Golden Grizzlies took the lead early on and wouldn’t relinquish it in their convincing showing over Akron.
Freshman Daniel Duhle earned the start on Tuesday amid his early-season success. Duhle boasts a 2.84 GPA over 19 innings, averaging a strikeout per inning. However, he only went 2.1 innings against the Zips as he struggled with his control, walking three batters and hitting two in between striking out four.
Akron struck first blood in the first inning after Duhle let three consecutive batters reach base. With the bases loaded, Duhle walked Akron third baseman Bowman, putting Oakland down 0-1. Duhle would strike out his next batter up, ending the inning with three punchouts.
That 1-0 deficit didn’t last long. OU immediately pounced on Zips starter Vandegrif as left-fielder John Lauinger led off with a single. His hit opened the floodgates for the Golden Grizzlies’ offense. After right-fielder Aidan Orr was hit by a pitch, Oakland hit four consecutive singles to drive in four runs. Vandegrif’s day was done after retiring just one batter. In total, OU put seven men on base in the opening frame, a great sign for the rest of the game.
Duhle had no problem with the Zips in the second inning, only allowing one walk against the four batters he faced. Oakland would get right back to it in the bottom of the frame as shortstop Brandon Nigh doubled to left center with one out. Catcher Matthew McGann added another RBI with a single that drove Nigh home, giving the black and gold a 5-1 lead.
In the third inning, sophomore reliever Blake Sehlke was called on after Duhle put two men on with one out. Sehlke wrapped up the inning cleanly, striking out one and coaxing a groundout to get the Golden Grizzlies out of a pinch. He completed the fourth inning as well, again working himself out of a tight spot with two men on.
OU would capitalize on his strong performance in the bottom of the fourth. With two men on and one out, third baseman Carter Hain produced yet again, earning his second RBI with a single between second and first. A commanding 6-1 lead put the Golden Grizzlies in a fantastic position to close out with the win.
Oakland would continue to pile on the runs in the very next inning. With two men out and Jack Lux on second, the Golden Grizzlies came up clutch. After a Lauinger walk and an Orr hit-by-pitch, Nigh came up to bat, facing a new Akron pitcher who was called upon to get the Zip out of a loaded-base situation. Nigh won the matchup, singling to center field to bring in two more runs, shifting the score to 8-1 in favor of the Golden Grizzlies.
The only remaining run from the contest came in the seventh inning on a fly-out RBI, but it was too little, too late. Oakland prevailed with an 8-2 victory, giving them their third win in four games. Over that stretch, the Golden Grizzlies are averaging seven runs, a great sign for the team moving forward.
Next up is a three-game series against Youngstown State at home that starts on Friday, April 4, and ends on Sunday, April 6.
