The Oakland Golden Grizzlies baseball team (10-37, 5-16 Horizon) extended its losing streak to 16 games over the weekend, falling in all three matchups of a road series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
With Youngstown State earning a series win over Milwaukee this weekend, the Golden Grizzlies are now a lock to finish in last place and will begin the Horizon League tournament in an elimination game.
Game 1: Oakland 0, Notre Dame 2
The series opener turned into a pitching duel, with Notre Dame’s bullpen delivering the difference-making performance.
Notre Dame threatened immediately in the opening inning, loading the bases with one out after a Bino Watters double and two hit batters. With Jayce Lee up to bat, he notched an RBI single, pushing Watters across for a 1-0 lead.
The Fighting Irish added its second run in the fourth inning on a home run from Andrew Graham. Graham’s home run, which marks his first of the season, extended the Notre Dame lead to 2-0 and was the final run scored of the evening.
Both pitching staffs controlled the remainder of the game. From the fifth inning through the ninth inning, both the Golden Grizzlies and the Fighting Irish recorded just two hits apiece.
Despite the loss, Oakland’s pitching staff turned in one of its strongest performances of the season. Starter Ben Green, Tanner Ware and Andrew Landis combined to allow just six hits.
Entering the series, Oakland had been undefeated when holding opponents to two runs or fewer.
As for the Fighting Irish, this is the fourth time this season Notre Dame has shut out its opponent. Fighting Irish starter Jack Radel made it look effortless on the bump in the series opener, allowing just one hit through five innings while tallying nine strikeouts in 17 at-bats.
Game 2: Oakland 5, Notre Dame 15
Oakland built an early lead in game two before Notre Dame erupted offensively midway through the contest to secure a run-rule victory in eight innings, along with the series.
Sam Griffith opened the scoring with a sacrifice bunt that brought Ben Clark home in the first inning. Griffith drove in another run in the third inning before Lucas Day launched a two-run home run moments later, putting the Golden Grizzlies up 4-0.
Notre Dame answered in the bottom of the inning when Dylan Passo lifted a sacrifice fly to score Shane Miranda, cutting Oakland’s lead to 4-1.
Despite the strong start from Oakland, Notre Dame flipped the game in the fifth inning, scoring eight runs on six hits while sending all nine batters to the plate. Following the Notre Dame barrage, the Fighting Irish led 9-4.
Looking for a response, the Golden Grizzlies found one in the seventh inning courtesy of Kyle Revere, who homered to deep left field to make it a 9-5 ball game. However, Notre Dame responded immediately, scoring six unanswered runs over the final two innings.
The Fighting Irish added two runs to its score in the seventh before plating four more runs in the eighth while holding Oakland scoreless, ushering in not only a series victory but a run-rule win over Oakland.
Game 3: Oakland 3, Notre Dame 9
Control issues on the mound for Oakland kept the Fighting Irish in the driver’s seat for the entirety of the series finale, with the Golden Grizzlies offense struggling to cut into the deficit.
After a scoreless top of the first, Notre Dame batted through the order in the bottom of the frame, mostly thanks to walks and hit batters, as the Fighting Irish led 3-0 at the end of the inning despite recording just one hit.
Jack Lux responded in the second with an RBI single following a ground-rule double from Aidan Schuck for Oakland’s first run of the game; however, an RBI double courtesy of Watters in the bottom of the second kept Notre Dame’s comfortable 4-1 lead.
In the following inning, the Fighting Irish once again took advantage of Oakland’s pitching mistakes, adding three runs to their tally, highlighted by a 2RBI ground-rule double from Watters. In total, five Notre Dame batters were walked in the third.
Oakland mounted a brief rally in the fifth inning, with Schuck starting the frame off with a double. Schuck was swiftly brought home on an RBI single from Boston Halloran, before Halloran made it across on an RBI single from Clark, making it a 7-3 ballgame.
After Oakland’s fifth-inning rally, Notre Dame shut the door on the Oakland offense and added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings to secure the series sweep.
On Deck
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will shift their attention to the Akron Zips (21-30, 11-19 MAC) at home on Tuesday, May 12, marking the final home game and non-conference matchup for the Golden Grizzlies this season.
Akron enters Tuesday following a road series loss against the Central Michigan Chippewas. Additionally, the Zips are 2-0 this season against Horizon League opponents, with two wins over Youngstown State, including a run-rule win back in April.
Tuesday’s matchup gives Oakland one final opportunity to snap its losing streak before closing the regular season against the Milwaukee Panthers.
Subscribe to our emails, and get our latest posts in your inbox, plus a weekly digest of everything we've published!
