Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

Loyola scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning en route to a 5-1 victory and completed the series sweep of the Youngstown State softball team on Saturday morning.

The Penguins, who have now lost three straight, fall to 21-9-1 overall and 5-4 in the Horizon League while the Ramblers improve to 13-16 overall and 6-3 in the league.

Loyola’s Brittany Gardner picked up her third win of the series, striking out seven Penguins and allowing just five hits.

The Guins attemped a rally loading the bases in the top of the seventh on single by  Sarah Gabel and two hit batters. Senior Amanda Palmore reached on an error to score Gabel for the only YSU run.

A lineout double play and a strikeout ended the Penguins threat.

The Guins return to action against St. Bonaventure, Wednesday, April 11, at 3 p.m.

Freshman Kayla Haslett scattered seven hits in an impressive complete-game outing and clobbered a pair of home runs with her bat to lift the Youngstown State softball team to a 7-1 victory and a series sweep of Cleveland State on Sunday at McCune Park.

After allowing a run in the top of the first inning, Haslett, settled in and did not allow a Cleveland State runner past second base the rest of the game.

The Penguins, who improve to 19-6-1 overall and 5-1 in the Horizon League, again were added by the long ball to get back in the game.

Senior Kristen Philen, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, led off the bottom of the third with a solo homer – her fourth of the year – to left-center field to tie the game at 1-1.

Two battters later, senior Haley Thomas punched a one-out, 3-2 pitch over the left-center field fence to put the Guins ahead 2-1.

A two-out double by senior Jordan Ingalls and an RBI-single by junior Vicky Rumph added a third run for YSU in the bottom of the third.

The Penguins expanded their lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth with two bases-loaded walks and a sacrifice fly by Ingalls.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Guins tacked on one more to close out the scoring. Philen led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Kelly Fox. Fox advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Brooke Meenachan‘s bunt single and scored on a throwing error.

Brian Campbell‘s Penguins host Saint Francis (Pa.) in a doubleheader, Tuesday, April 3, at 3 p.m. at McCune Park.

Butler scored four runs before recording an out in the first inning and stayed hot offensively all afternoon to defeat the Youngstown State baseball team 18-5 in the series finale on Sunday at Eastwood Field.  After the Penguins held the Bulldogs to one earned run on five hits Saturday, Butler’s offense erupted for 18 earned runs on 18 hits.

Bulldogs designated hitter Pat Gelwicks posted five hits, three runs and three RBIs, and Bob Akin also drove in three. Jason Shirley had three hits and scored twice, and Drew Dosch added two hits for the Penguins.

The first six Bulldog hitters reached base on three singles, two walks and a hit batsman, and that ended the day for YSU starter Pat Shedlock. All five runs in the first were charged to him.

The Penguins got the first two runners on in the bottom of the first, but a strikeout and caught stealing resulted in a double play. Marcus Heath singled in Shirley to make the score 5-1, but the Guins couldn’t put together a big inning to keep pace. YSU had the leadoff runner on in the second and sacrificed him to second and failed to score.

Butler hit three doubles and had a sacrifice fly in the third to go ahead 7-1, and Dosch drove in David Leon for an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning.

The Bulldogs added a run in the fourth to go up 8-2, and they scored six times in the sixth. Craig Goubeaux brought in Shirley on a sacrifice fly, and Dosch scored on an error in the eighth to make the score 14-4. Butler added four more runs to its total in the ninth, and Dosch singled in Jack Graham in the bottom half for the final tally.

Butler starter Mike Hernandez allowed one earned run on six hits in six innings to earn the win for Butler.

Youngstown State will play four road games next week, starting with a game at Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Senior Haley Thomas became Youngstown State’s all-time runs leader as the Penguins softball team defeated, 7-6, and tied, 5-5, Akron in a doubleheader at Lee Jackson Field.  Thomas scored the record-breaking run when she belted a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to give the Penguins a 6-5 advantage.

Thomas’ blast etched her name in the YSU record books, but junior Sarah Gabel‘s two-out, bases-clearing triple in the top of the third capped a four-run inning and put the Guins ahead 4-3.  Gable went 3-for-4 with a triple, double and single and drove in three runs to lead the Penguins’ 11-hit arsenal.

Sophomore Sarah Ingalls also collected three hits with a double and scored twice for the Penguins, who improved to 16-6-1.

The Zips took a 5-4 lead after plating two runs in the bottom of the third inning before Thomas’ home run in the sixth.

The Guins added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Sarah Ingalls drove in Samantha Snodgrass with two outs to put YSU up 7-5. Ingalls clutch hit proved to be the difference after Akron’s Allison Dorr belted a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

Freshman Kayla Haslett, though, relieved winner Casey Crozier (7-3) and shut down the Zips to collect her first career save.

Game two was called due to darkness after six innings with the game tied at 5-5.

The Youngstown State baseball team got five shutout innings from starting pitcher Ryan Krokos and scored five runs in the sixth inning to beat Akron 8-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Eastwood Field.  Krokos pitched five scoreless innings in his first career start, holding the Zips to three hits while striking out one. Marcus Heath had two hits and scored twice while Jason Shirley, Drew Dosch and Kevin Hix all drove in two runs.

Tyler Begun and Brady Stewart had three hits apiece for Akron, which outhit YSU 10-7.  Akron pitchers walked nine batters, and four of them came around to score.

Dosch gave the Penguins the lead early by smacking his third home run of the season in the first inning. David Leon led off YSU’s half of the first with a walk, and Shirley sacrificed him to second. Dosch then hit a full-count pitch into the right-field bullpen to put the Guins up 2-0.

Krokos worked around two-out doubles in both the first and third innings, and he got out of a bigger jam in the fourth. He beaned Begun to start the inning, and a single by Stewart put runners at the corners with nobody out. Begun was then thrown out in a rundown when Dan Burant hit a one-hopper to first. Krokos then induced Bryan White into a 4-6-3 double play that ended the inning.

Akron got an unearned run in the sixth, and Blake Aquadro was able to escape with the bases loaded. He walked Joey Havrilak to start the inning, and he was safe at second when Jack Graham’s flip from second base was wide. YSU got an out at second on a fielder’s choice to leave runners at the corners with one out, and Stewart singled in Havrilak to put the Zips on the board. Aquadro hit Burant to load the bases, but the junior lefty got White to line out to center and struck out Darius Washington to end the inning.

The Penguins answered Akron’s run by scoring five runs and sending 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the sixth. After retiring the leadoff batter, reliever Jason McPeek allowed walks to Craig Goubeaux (above) and Dan Hurlimann and a single to Heath to load the bases. Hix brought in Goubeaux with a weak ground out to second, and Phil Lipari walked to re-load the bases. McPeek then beaned Graham on a 3-0 pitch to plate Heath. Andrew Fanning then came in to pitch and walked Leon on a 3-2 pitch to bring in Hurlimann for the third run of the inning. Shirley then brought in Lipari and Graham with a two-run single up the middle that made the score 7-1.

Heath doubled and scored on Hix’s sacrifice fly in the seventh to give the Guins an 8-1 lead. Akron made it 8-2 when Jared Turocy singled in Devan Ahart in the eighth, and the Zips scored on a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly in the ninth for the final tally.

Akron starter Matt Gebacz allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out four in five innings. All five runs in the sixth were charged to McPeek.

YSU and Akron will play again on Wednesday at Canal Park. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

Over the past few years, the facilities have improved, some coaching changes have been made, and school spirit is as high as it has been in about twenty years.  Ron Strollo (above) is finally getting to see the benefits of his hard work.  The athletic director at Youngstown State had come under fire three years ago.  When Jon Heacock was failing, both basketball programs were declining, and all the other sports we had to have for scholarship and conference alignment purposes, no one was sure if Strollo could survive.

Not only has he survived, he has prospered.  The whole athletic community has prospered.

Ask Eric Wolford.  Wolford was appointed to be the savior of a football program that seemed to cater to individuals instead of team.  All Wolford has done in two years is put a program in place, recruited like it is his last day on Earth, surrounded himself with good coaches, and worked on good character and life skills tirelessly for his players.  The expectation on Wolford’s 2012 Penguins is to win.  With a victory over FCS Champion North Dakota State last season, expectations on the coming season are very high.

Perhaps no coach is more misunderstood than Jerry Slocum.  Recently completing his seventh season at the helm, the reserved, but opinionated, coach proved he can win. Strollo rewarded Slocum with a contract extension, and Slocum paid back when he put the best product of his tenure on the court last season.  Slocum is in the Top-10 list for wins of active coaches and knows the game of basketball.  People are sometimes critical of his personality, but no one should ever question his ability to coach.  Strollo made the right decision in rewarding Slocum a few more years as the program continues to move forward.

Bob Boldon probably couldn’t get the pen out of his pocket soon enough to sign a contract to coach women’s basketball at YSU.  It is a nice place to start, following a departed coach who went 0-30 the year before.  Boldon has had good success in installing a three-point shooting offense and is always preaching defense, he is a good choice, another feather in Strollo’s cap.

Rich Pasquale will endure some growing pains with his 2012 YSU baseball squad. Pasquale has a very young team with only two seniors and is another tireless recruiter.  Don’t be surprised to see this team in the hunt next season as they get their bearings and learn to play together.  Coach Campbell is at that point now with the Lady Penguins softball team.  These girls can flat out play.  He has pitching, he has hitting, and he is proving very proficient at managing both.

Recently, the Penguins hosted the Horizon League Indoor Track Meet.  The WATTS proved to be a terrific venue for the event and Strollo reflected on the feedback.

“The feedback has been positive.  Obviously there are a few things, as we will go through growing pains, that need fixed.  We will address those minor issues. Fortunately, we ran college and high school meets a month and a half prior to tune up for that event.”

The weekend of the Horizon Meet, there were also basketball home games and the swimming home finale.

“There is no question we don’t mind being busy if that is what it takes.”

Strollo has surrounded himself with outstanding personnel.  This department has evolved into a prototype of how a collegiate athletic department should be run.  The marketing and sports information departments have exemplified consistency, which can be tough with subpar products.  Fortunately, the products are ‘new and improved’ and will continue to draw bigger crowds.  Keep up the good work Ron Strollo, and thanks for what you have done so far.

Three UIC pitchers combined to hold the Youngstown State baseball team to five hits, and the Flames completed a three-game sweep of the Penguins with an 8-0 victory on Sunday at Les Miller Field.

Flames starter Charlie Weinberg allowed four hits and struck out six batters in seven innings, and Mike Schoolcraft and Tim Suminski both threw scoreless innings of relief. UIC’s pitchers also did not issue a walk or a hit batsman on the afternoon.

YSU starter Pat Shedlock had his first off outing in three weeks, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings. Four relievers combined to hold the Flames without an earned run over 4.2 innings. YSU had four errors that led to three unearned runs.

David Leon and Kevin Hix both had two hits for the Penguins, and YSU’s Drew Dosch was kept off base for the first time in 25 games, dating back to last season.

Ryan Boss was a single away from hitting for the cycle for UIC. The sophomore designated hitter was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Boss homered with two outs in the first to give UIC a 1-0 lead, and Jon Ryan scored on a two-out error in the second as the Flames built a two-run advantage. Boss and Alex De LaRosa then hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and Joe Betcher added a run-scoring single in the third to make the score 5-0. A sacrifice fly by Ryan Shober and an RBI triple from Boss in the fourth put the Flames up 7-0. UIC got an unearned run on a fielder’s choice ground out in the eighth for its final run.

YSU will play Akron in a home-and-home series during the upcoming week. The Penguins will host the Zips at Eastwood Field at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, and they’ll play at Canal Park in Akron on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

With Youngstown State starting Spring football, a good question heading into 2012 would be, ‘Is the “process” that the program has undertaken since Eric Wolford got hired ready?’  Time will tell, but at Saturday’s full-pads practice, Coach Wolford seemed very encouraged by what he saw.

“We told the offense that it was a first-and-ten situation and they had to get four yards, and they didn’t do it.”, said Wolford.  “I saw some improvement and some good things and as the Spring goes on I expect to see more.”

YSU, the only team to beat reigning FCS Champion, North Dakota State, last season, will feel pressure for this program to win.  For two years, Wolford has explained in depth that in a technologically driven society of ‘now’, where everything seems needed at the very moment it is desired, that this is a process.  Now that Wolford has pieces in place, the process needs to transition into the standard, which Wolford defines as winning championships.

One of the reasons YSU can win championships is the lethal team of Kurt Hess and Shane Montgomery.  Montgomery is an offensive genius, last year’s stats would back that statement.  Hess is just a good person.  We talked for 15 minutes after practice Saturday about the start of Major League Baseball, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, his schoolwork, this website, and many other things.  It is hard not to root for someone like Hess.

“We definitely feel the pressure to win now”, remarked Hess.  “Jelani [Berassa] and I walked out here on the field this Winter.  We came in at the same time under Coach Heacock, but it never felt like this.  There is electricity on this field of magic and we know we want to bottle it this season.”

The Saturday practice was more of an acclamation to full gear than all-out hitting filled session.  By next Saturday, the team’s first scrimmage, the noise will be easily heard between the whistles.

Marcus Heath (above) tied the game with an RBI single in the ninth inning, and Jeremy Banks hit a walk-off RBI single in the 11th to lift the Youngstown State baseball team to a 4-3 win over Milwaukee on Sunday at Eastwood Field.

Heath drove in all three runs for YSU in the first nine innings, and Banks and Drew Dosch both had two-out hits in their final three at bats. Dosch finished 5-for-6 as he, Banks and Heath combined for 10 of YSU’s 12 hits in the second through fourth spots in the line-up. Both Heath and Banks were down 0-2 in the count with two outs in their tying and winning hits.

YSU got a solid start from Pat Shedlock, and the Penguins bullpen did not allow a run in five innings. Ryan Krokos threw a scoreless 11th inning to earn his first collegiate win, and Nic Manuppelli and Kevin McCulloh were also strong in relief.

Milwaukee’s bullpen, which did not allow a run in 4.2 innings in the first two games of the series, surrendered two runs to the Penguins in four innings.

Will Fadness put Milwaukee up 1-0 in the first when he brought in Michael Porcaro with a two-out single. Paul Hoenecke and Jonathan Capasso then had RBI doubles in the third for Milwaukee that gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead. After Capasso doubled with two outs, he went to third on a passed ball with two outs. He was then thrown out at the plate trying to score on a pitch that bounced away from YSU catcher Craig Goubeaux. Milwaukee only had one runner reach third base the rest of the game.

The Penguins scored two unearned runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jack Graham drew a one-out walk and went to second when Capasso dropped a tailing line drive in left field from Jason Shirley. First baseman Phil Striggow then couldn’t come up with a grounder from Drew Dosch, and the Penguins had the bases loaded with one out. Milwaukee starter Mike Schneider got Banks to line out to third on a check swing for the second out, but Heath hit a ground-rule double into the left-field bullpen to plate two runs on the first pitch of his at bat.

YSU left the bases loaded in the seventh, but the Guins got some two-out lightning from the heart of their order in the ninth. Milwaukee closer Jordan Guth got Jack Graham to pop out on the first pitch of his at bat and struck out Shirley on four pitches for two quick outs. Dosch and Banks extended the game with back-to-back singles, and Heath singled in Dosch on the eighth pitch of his at bat to tie the score at 3-3.

Manuppelli worked around a leadoff single and a two-out error in the 10th, and Krokos allowed a single and walk in the 11th before escaping. Just as in the ninth, Dosch got things going in the bottom of the 11th with a two-out single to left. He moved to second on a key wild pitch that forced the outfield to move in for a potential play at the plate, and Banks’s winner landed just past a diving Luke Meeter in deep right center.

Shedlock posted his third straight quality start, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five in six innings. Schneider did not allow an earned run on five hits in 6.2 innings, and Jake Long took the loss in allowing the run in the 11th.

Youngstown State will play its only scheduled game of the year at Cene Park on Tuesday against Notre Dame College. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

The Youngstown State baseball team stranded 11 runners and got hurt by errors and hit batsmen in a 5-4 loss to Milwaukee on Friday evning at Eastwood Field in YSU’s home and Horizon League opener.

Penguins pitchers beaned five Panther hitters, and three runs scored as a result. Milwaukee’s run in the seventh that broke a 4-4 tie scored after two errors, and the Panthers scored their five runs on just five hits.  Ten of YSU’s 13 hits came int the first four innings.

YSU catcher Craig Goubeaux nearly matched Milwaukee in the hits column himself. He was 4-for-4, and Drew Dosch added three hits.

Penguins starter Blake Aquadro hit three batters in the second inning, and Milwaukee scored twice to go ahead 2-0. Mark Strey came up with the only hit of the frame, but his two-out single to left plated both runs.

YSU matched Milwaukee with two runs in the bottom of the second on four hits. David Leon singled to start the inning and advanced to second on an error. Kevin Hix sacrificed him to third, and he scored on Goubeaux’s single. A Phil Lipari single and a bunt single by Dosch loaded the bases, and Goubeaux scored the tying run on Jason Shirley‘s fielder’s choice.

Jim Lundstrom hit a cue-shot double just inside the first base bag to start the third, and he scored on a Paul Hoenecke ground out to put Milwaukee up 3-2. The Penguins took the lead in the third with three hits, the final of which was a two-run single by Goubeaux.

The Penguins had runners at the corners with one out in the fourth and couldn’t score, and the Panthers tied the score in the top of the fifth. Jonathan Capasso was hit on a 1-2 pitch, and he scored on a Hoenecke double.

YSU was its own worst enemy in the seventh when Milwaukee scored the go-ahead run without recording a hit. Hoenecke reached on two-base error by Leon at second, and he went to third on a sacrifice bunt. With the infield in, Lipari moved to his left to stop a grounder and held Hoenecke at third, but the shortstop’s throw to first was wild, and Hoenecke came in to score the eventual winning run.

Goubeaux had a two-out single in the seventh, and that was YSU’s last hit. The Penguins went in order in each of the final two innings.

Kevin McCulloh suffered the loss fot the Penguins as he allowed the unearned run in the seventh. Aquadro allowed four runs on four hits in five innings in a no-decision. Eric Semmelhack earned the win for Milwaukee despite allowing four runs on 12 hits in six innings. Three Panther relievers combined to allow one hit in three shutout innings.

The Penguins and Panthers will play game two of their three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m.