FINDLAY, Ohio -Tony Naso could not have picked a better time to throw a complete-game shutout.
With the Dragons facing six games in three days this weekend, Naso threw a three-hit shutout in game one while the Oilers captured game two as Tiffin (11-29, 8-18) won the season series with rival Findlay (12-26-1, 9-18) with a 4-0 victory in game one followed by a 6-4 loss in the second game Friday afternoon in Findlay, Ohio.
Naso (2-4) threw seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits with no walks and four punchouts while no Findlay runner advanced past second base. Chris Sauber lost his first decision of the year in game two, allowing five hits and four runs in 2.1 innings.
Offensively, Tiffin collected 18 hits combined on the day with Michael Dushane leading the way. Dushane racked up four singles in seven at-bats with a run scored. Jordan Chiero went 3-for-6 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI's while Cory Osborne went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI's on the day.
Findlay's Drew Hargrove (3-2) threw a complete game for the win in game two, allowing eight hits and four runs. Victor Migliore threw every inning in game one, but 10 hits and four runs (three earned) in seven innings dropped his record to 1-1.
Jason Reitenbach led the Oilers' offense with five singles in seven at-bats with three RBI's and a run scored. Migliore had three singles in five at-bats with a pair of runs scored.
Tiffin scored single tallies in the first and second, and that would be more than enough for Naso. Pat Curtin led off the game by reaching on an error, advanced to second on Dushane's single, went on to third on Chiero's sacrifice bunt and scored on Osborne's sacrifice fly. The first two also reached in the second, and a Zach McCutcheon single scored Val Helldobler.
While Tiffin put early pressure on the Oilers, Naso retired the first six batters faced in the game. Migliore singled to lead off the third for Findlay, but Naso quickly got the double play as he faced the minimum through three. Naso faced a situation in the bottom of the fourth when Reitenbach led off the inning with a bunt single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but a pair of strikeouts between a lineout did not allow the runner past second.
A pair of timely two-out hits in the top of the seventh added two more insurance runs for the Dragons. With Curtin at third with two down after a triple, Chiero and Osborne both hit doubles to left to put TU up 4-0. Naso allowed a hit in the bottom of the seventh, but never allowed him to advance past first in Tiffin's four-run win in game one.
The Dragons scored three runs in their first three at-bats, but Findlay caught up to Sauber for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back. Colin Lowe scored in the second for TU thanks to a single, stolen base and a two-out hit by Ryan Williams in the second. A Chiero RBI double and Osborne's second sacrifice fly of the day put Tiffin ahead 3-0 after the top of the third.
Sauber faced the minimum through two innings, but Findlay caught up to him in the third. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases to begin the frame before a Reitenbach single cut Tiffin's lead to one. Another RBI single and a bases loaded walk gave Findlay the 4-3 lead after three. UF added another run in the top of the fourth to extend the home team's advantage.
Chiero led off the top of the sixth with a double and scored on two straight fly outs, but Findlay pushed it back to a two-run lead in the bottom of the sixth and went on to win 6-4.
Tiffin returns to action tomorrow for its final home series of the year when it takes on Northwood in a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
