YSU earns another 20-win season

The Penguins swept Wright State to improve to 20-12.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- The Youngstown State softball team showed its versatility here Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Horizon League opponent Wright State at McCune Park.
The Penguins scratched out a 1-0 victory in the opener as Lacy Bronson raced home with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning after a wild pitch.
In the nightcap the Penguins jumped out to a 3-0 lead by batting around in the second inning en route to a 5-1 victory over the Raiders.
With the sweep the Penguins (20-12, 4-2 Horizon League) reached the 20 win mark for the second straight year.
Wright State (12-27, 2-8) was the Horizon League's representative in the NCAA tournament a year ago.
"It was good to see us come out on top in a close game in the opener," said YSU coach Christy Cameron. "They never panicked and just stayed patient, while playing good defense."
Sophomore pitcher Kelly Murphy (9-7) tossed a two-hit shutout to win the opener, striking out eight. It was Murphy's second straight two-hitter as she lost a 1-0 decision at Cleveland State last Wednesday.
Good pitching
In the opener the Penguins had trouble getting to Wright State pitcher Amanda Cody, who also tossed a two-hitter and struck out seven Penguins.
The Penguins only threatened once before the seventh inning and that came in the fourth when senior Lacey Reichert was hit by a pitch to open the inning. She was sacrificed to second by senior Amanda Berry and, after junior Kiisha Warfield walked, Bronson sacrificed both runners to second and third.
Catcher Kristen Farley couldn't handle Cody's next pitch and when the ball squirted loose, Reichart broke for the plate. But Farley beat her there and made the tag for the out.
In the seventh Bronson led off with a single to left field and was sacrificed to second by senior Amber Smith. Junior Erin Moore then hit back to Cody who couldn't handle it and Bronson moved to third.
This time Cody uncorked a wild pitch and Bronson was able to beat Farley back to the plate for the winning run.
"There was never a decision," said Bronson. "I was going all the way and it was my decision, the coach put me on my own out there. I started and then just hoped that I could beat her to the plate."
Murphy, who only allowed three runners to reach second base, was in control the whole way. She gave up a game-opening single to Amy Price in the first and didn't allow another hit until Sheena Casto led off the seventh with a double, but never got any further.
"It was tough out there today, but I had some good defense behind me and it felt good to win this close one," Murphy added.
Early lead
In the second game, Berry led off the second inning with a towering home run over the right field fence. The Penguins added five more hits in the inning, leading to three runs. That was more than enough for freshman pitcher Karlie Burnell (7-3), who scattered 10 hits and didn't allow a run until the fifth inning.
The Penguins scored twice more in the fourth, thanks to a pair of errors by the Raiders.
Moore had two of the Penguins six hits in the nightcap and also had one of the two hits in the opener.
The last time the Penguins had back-to-back 20-win seasons was 1996 and 1997.
The teams will play a single game today at 1 p.m. at McCune Park.
mollica@vindy.com