Penguins sweep first two games

YSU plays Wright State today in a winner's bracket game.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;By PETE MOLLICA & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- The Youngstown State softball team is exactly where it wants to be in the Horizon League Tournament.
The Penguins posted a pair of victories Friday, moving into the winner's bracket final of the double-elimination tournament at Viking Field. Today at 5 p.m., second-seeded YSU will play No. 8 seed Wright State.
YSU (36-15-1) opened the tournament Thursday with a five-inning, 8-0 victory over Detroit as freshman Kelly Murphy pitched a no-hitter.
In the Penguins' second game, Murphy pitched the first 5 1/3 innings, still not allowing a run, and senior Steph Hartman came on as YSU held off No. 3 seed Illinois-Chicago, 3-2.
A victory today would send the Penguins into the tournament's championship game Saturday, where the winner earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Other action
Wright State upset No. 1 Loyola, 6-2, in the opening round, then knocked off No. 4 UW Green Bay in the second round, 2-1.
"These two wins were so huge for this team," said YSU coach Christy Cameron, who on Wednesday was named Horizon coach of the year. "It means that we only have to play one game [today], which takes a big load off our pitching staff."
Murphy, who posted her 21st victory in the opener, struck out six, but she walked three and hit a batter.
The no-hitter was her first as a college pitcher and it was the fourth thrown in Horizon Tournament play.
"This may sound like an excuse, but we used a different ball for this tournament than we have all season," Murphy said. "The ball was slippery and the seams were much different than I've been used to."
Honored player
Murphy, the league's pitcher of the year and newcomer of the year, walked two batters in the first inning, but that was the only inning the Titans had more than one base runner.
The Penguins finished with eight hits, including four for extra bases.
Freshman Tiffany Patteson had a two-run triple in the second inning and a double in the fourth. Lacy Reichart had two hits, including a double, and junior Amanda Berry, the Horizon League's Player of the Year, also doubled.
"We had some things to prove after our performance last weekend in Chicago," Patteson said. "We knew that we could play with anybody in this league and we wanted to prove that this weekend."
Murphy said that she had no difficulty pitching in both games.
"This is the tournament and I'll pitch every game if they need me to," she said.
Second game
Her streak of no-hit innings didn't last very long; Illinois-Chicago's lead-off hitter, Cameron Astiazaran, drilled a double to open the second game, but was stranded at third.
Murphy (22-5) breezed through the next four innings, allowing just an infield single, but she had trouble in the sixth.
After getting the first out, she hit Astiazaran and walked Michelle Miller before Cameron made the switch to Hartman.
The senior came on and got Sara Hernandez to hit into a force out and then retired Alycia Rivera herself to get out of the jam.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead in the third inning without hitting the ball out of the infield. With two outs and a runner at first, Flames pitcher Brittany McIntyre walked three straight batters to force in the run.
In the fourth, the Penguins added two more runs, again with two outs. Cody Bise singled up the middle and Amber Smith reached on an error. Soller then hit a double to left-center field, scoring both runs.
Hartman ran into trouble in the seventh, allowing a pair of singles and a walk. McIntyre grounded into a force out, scoring one run, and Joyce Cathey hit an RBI single, but Hartman got the next batter to ground out.
The final out came when Penguin third baseman Lacey Reichart made a diving catch of a line drive off the bat of Miller.
Hartman recorded her league-leading eight save of the season.