Youngstown State: Penguins baseball team defeats Baylor
The Youngstown State baseball team scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to overcome a three-run deficit and rally for a 7-5 victory over Baylor in the series opener on Friday at Baylor Ballpark in Waco, Texas.
The Bears scored once in the bottom of the third before the Penguins evened the score with one run in the top of the sixth. YSU took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh before Baylor answered a pair of runs in the home half of the inning. The Bears added two runs in the bottom of the eighth before the Penguins struck for five runs in the ninth to earn the 7-5 victory.
Youngstown State improves to 2-7 overall while Baylor falls to 2-7. The Penguins earned their first win over a Big 12 opponent since a 10-7 victory over West Virginia on Feb. 22, 2013. YSU also claimed its third win over a Power Five opponent in the last two seasons.
Trailing 5-2, the Penguins got a one-out single from Padraig O’Shaughnessy to begin the ninth-inning rally. Matt Thompson followed with a single before Andre Good struck out. Pinch hitter Eddie Saucedo drew a two-out walk to load the bases and Clay Wiesen followed with a two-out, two-run pinch-hit single to draw YSU within 5-4. Trey Law tied the game with an RBI double before Turner Grau delivered a two-run double to left center to put the Penguins in front for good.
YSU starter Travis Perry allowed just one unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings in a no-decision. The fifth-year senior right-hander retired the side in order in the first inning. Perry did not allow a hit in four different innings, and he recorded multiple strikeouts in three different frames.
Brandin Anderson earned his first collegiate win after tossing a scoreless inning of relief while Casey Marshalwitz worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save of the season. Braden Gebhardt allowed two runs on one hit and three walks over 1.1 innings while Kenny Misik was charged with two runs, one of them earned, in one third of an inning.
Thompson had a career-high four hits as he went 4-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Penguins offensively. Grau went 2-for-5 with the go-ahead two-run double while Wiesen drove in two runs as well. Six different Penguins recorded a hit as YSU outhit Baylor 10-5.
The Penguins and Bears will continue their four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast live on YSNLive.com.
Bowling
The Youngstown State bowling team fought through a high split rate and dropped four matches on Friday at Nebraska’s Big Red Invitational. The three-day tournament runs through Sunday at Hollywood Bowl in Lincoln, Neb.
The Penguins posted a 1-4 record in their five Baker matches and totaled 4,977 pins.
“Our sport can present days like today where it seems like the sequencing does not go your way,” said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. “We had a bunch of games where we had seven or eight strikes for 200-210. Lots of strike-nine’s and lots of splits on solid shots at the wrong times.”
“While we made a few mistakes, overall, I’m actually quite proud of our effort. Our shot-making is solid and our togetherness is through the roof. And they both showed with how we came back the last two matches. I need to do a better job as a coach of zeroing in on little things that can turn the tide our way tomorrow. As long as we stay who we are, I like our chances to make a solid run this weekend.”
The Penguins topped 990 in four of their five matches, but they struggled to keep pace with the top end of the field. YSU averaged 199.08 per game despite leaving a total of 30 splits in its 25 Baker games.
Youngstown State won its opening match 993-946 over Valparaiso, and it broke the 1,000-point level in its next three matches. Unfortunately for the Penguins, their opponents shot higher in all three contests. YSU fell 1,084-1,050 to Quincy, 1,067-1,000 to No. 20 UW-Whitewater and 1,016-1,005 to No. 13 Newman. YSU then dropped to 929 in a seven-pin loss to Upper Iowa to conclude the day.
Youngstown State will try to bounce back on Saturday as the tournament shifts to the traditional format. The Penguins will begin competition at 10:10 a.m. Eastern.
Softball
The Youngstown State softball team continues its road trek with four games at the Purple and Gold Challenge hosted by Lipscomb, March 4-5, in Nashville, Tenn.
The Penguins take on Saint Louis and Lipscomb on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and square off against Providence and Saint Louis on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively
The Penguins went 1-3 in a four-game round robin at UMBC on Feb. 25-26. The Penguins fell to Lafayette, 5-4, and UMBC, 3-0, on day one and defeated Lafayette, 4-0, and losing to UMBC, 6-3, on day two.
Lacrosse
The Youngstown State women’s lacrosse team will continue their non-conference slate as they travel to face No. 3 Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. on Sunday.
First draw against the Wildcats is set for 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. Eastern inside Ryan Fieldhouse. The contest will be streamed on B1G+.
This will be the first matchup between the Penguins and Wildcats in program history. Northwestern is ranked third in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA Coaches Poll across all Division I Universities. The Wildcats are 3-1 overall and recorded their only loss of the season against No. 2 Syracuse by a 16-15 margin.
The Penguins and Wildcats have one common opponent in Marquette who Northwestern defeated 21-14. YSU was dealt an 18-11 loss in their competition against the Golden Eagles on Feb. 17. Northwestern’s other two 2023 victories were earned over No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 4 Boston College.