The Malone University baseball team allowed just one unearned run over 16 innings of a doubleheader sweep over the University of Findlay Friday afternoon on the road. Great pitching, great defense, and clutch timely hitting gave the Pioneers a 3-0 win in the nine-inning opener and a 3-1 victory in the seven-inning nightcap.
 
With the wins, Malone improved to 22-11 on the season and have now won 12 consecutive games against Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) competition. The Pioneers, who are 12-4 in the G-MAC, also took over sole possession of first place in the conference standings. Findlay, meanwhile, dropped to 10-14 overall and 4-8 in the G-MAC.
 
Game One Recap
Entering the week with top-ranked pitching staff in the G-MAC, Malone used yet another terrific pitching performance from junior Christian Specht to shutout the Oilers in game one. Specht lowered his season ERA to 2.14 with eight scoreless innings as he improved to 3-1 on the season. The righthander allowed just six hits (all singles) and two walks while posting five strikeouts in the victory.
 
Offensively, Malone used station-to-station baseball to score its first run as Cade Mottice led off the top of the third inning with a walk, moved to second on sacrifice bunt, moved to third on a groundout, and came in to score when Turner Hill bounced a two-out, two-strike pitch up the middle for an RBI single.
 
The Pioneers added an insurance run in the fifth when Matt Noel's hard-hit ground ball to third was misplayed, allowing Cade Mottice to score from third. The Pioneers tacked on their final run in the ninth when Tyson Gingerich reached on a hustle double and scored on Zach Mottice's two-out RBI single.
 
The Oilers threatened to score late, but Specht worked out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the eighth before sophomore closer Clay Cooper shut the door in the ninth to preserve the victory with his fourth save of the season.
 
Cade Mottice singled twice and score twice to lead the Malone offense while Turner Hill reached base four times with a single and three walks.
 
Game Two Recap
A leadoff walk by Tyson Gingerich and back-to-back bunt base hits by Zach Mottice and Turner Hill loaded the bases for Matt Noel, who drove in the game's first run with an RBI groundout. After the Oilers limited the first-inning damage, they got their run back in the bottom of the third.
 
Tied at 1-1, the two teams swapped zeros over the next three innings before Malone broke the tie in its final at bat in the top of the seventh. A leadoff single by Clay Wisner and a sacrifice bunt moved the go-ahead run into scoring position. Following a groundout that moved Wisner to third, Zach Mottice delivered the big hit, drilling a low liner which deflected off the pitcher's glove and rolled past the mound, resulting in an infield single and a 2-1 lead.
 
A Turner Hill walk followed by a pair of Findlay wild pitches allowed Mottice to cross the plate and give the Pioneers an important insurance run headed into the home half of the seventh.
 
Clay Cooper, who entered with two outs in the sixth, loaded the bases in the seventh, leaving the game-tying run in scoring position. A fantastic play with two outs in the inning by Tyson Gingerich at shortstop, however, gave Malone the victory. On a bouncing ball up the middle that was on its way to centerfield, Gingerich was able to snag it and then out-race the runner to the second base, diving to the bag just ahead of the slide.
 
While Cooper (3-1) earned the victory, starting pitcher Tommy Walker pitched well in the no-decision. Walker surrendered just one unearned run and posted four strikeouts over 5.2 innings pitched. Already the league leader in ERA, Walker lowered his mark to 1.32 on the season.
 
Jacob Mottice, who doubled and singled, and Zach Mottice, who singled twice, combined on four of Malone's six hits.
 
Up Next
The Pioneers and Oilers will square off twice more on Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 pm.