In the team’s final homestand of the regular season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies baseball team (11-37, 5-16 Horizon) snapped its 16-game losing streak, the program’s longest since 2019, against the Akron Zips on Tuesday.
In a game that saw the Golden Grizzlies down early before battling back to take the win, designated hitter Ben Clark was instrumental. Clark finished the game with a career-high four hits on four at-bats, driving in two runs and scoring five times.
For the Zips, Easton Amundson had a standout performance, recording five hits on five at-bats while driving in six runs. Kyle McConachie was another big contributor for Akron, batting in two runs with two hits.
Akron struck first in the game’s opening inning, taking advantage of three consecutive walks before Amundson pushed all three runs across with a double to give the Zips an early 3-0 lead.
Clark responded for the Golden Grizzlies immediately in the bottom of the frame, clearing the fences for a solo home run. With two Golden Grizzlies on base in the third, Clark successfully stole home, cutting Akron’s lead to 3-2.
Amundson extended Akron’s lead with a solo home run in the fourth to keep the Zips ahead before Kelton Phillips connected for an RBI single, adding two runs to the Akron lead. In the bottom of the inning, Boston Halloran kept Oakland in it with an RBI single, as the Zips still led, 5-3.
With Akron still in control, Oakland finally broke through in the sixth, sending all nine batters to the plate during a six-run inning that flipped the game to give Oakland a 10-6 lead.
Following the Golden Grizzlies’ rally, Amundson cut into the Oakland lead at the top of the seventh with a two-run home run to right field, bringing the Zips closer to the Golden Grizzlies’ lead at 10-8.
Oakland added insurance in the eighth, capitalizing on shaky Akron pitching to score three runs and extend the lead to 13-8.
Despite Oakland pitcher Tanner Ware allowing four hits and two runs in the top of the ninth, he was able to secure the final out to give the Golden Grizzlies their first win since their road win against Michigan State on April 14, nearly a month ago.
Although this win doesn’t change Oakland’s fate in the Horizon League standings, as they are guaranteed to finish last, Oakland now heads into the regular season’s final series with renewed confidence before the Horizon League tournament.
On Deck
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will hit the road for their final series of the season and take on the Milwaukee Panthers (19-31, 11-10 Horizon) in a three-game series that starts on Thursday, May 14, and concludes on Saturday, May 16.
The Panthers will prove to be an interesting benchmark for Oakland, as Milwaukee currently sits in second-place in the Horizon League and is 2-1 against the Golden Grizzlies this season, having previously won a three-game series on Oakland’s home turf back in April.
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