YSU had chances, but falters

The Penguins dropped a 10-3 decision to Texas and will play TCU today.
By AVERY HOLTON
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
AUSTIN, Texas -- Rallying against a college baseball team that fluttered in and out of the No.1 spot in the nation all season isn't just difficult.
"It's almost impossible" said Youngstown State head coach Mike Florak after Friday's 10-3 loss to top-seeded Texas in the opening round of the NCAA regional tournament at Disch-Falk Field.
"We had a lot more opportunities tonight than we took advantage [of], but it's easy to see why [Texas] is one of the, if not the, top program in the country," Florak said.
The Penguins (22-31) had 11 hits, left seven runners stranded and scored twice in the eighth inning, but left runners on second and third, snapping a four-game winning streak and forcing the team into today's elimination bracket.
In last week's Horizon League tournament, Youngstown rallied for four runs in the ninth to beat second-seeded Butler in the opening round of the league's tournament and then went on to take three more games, winning the tournament and grabbing an improbable NCAA bid.
Simmons is effective
Steady in confidence, the Penguins tried in desperation to overcome a brilliant start from Texas senior left-hander Justin Simmons, who allowed one run on eight hits and clamped down four hits after the third inning.
"He's a bulldog," Florak said. "Whatever happened to him last week off the field, he had a fire in his belly tonight. The way he came after our hitters, he was tough so there wasn't a lot of room to come back late."
It took the Penguins an entire season to notch 22 wins. Texas reached the mark in mid-March, eventually running away to a 50-15 record before falling to Oklahoma State in last weekend's Big 12 tournament.
So after allowing Youngstown State to score the game's first run in the second inning, it wasn't surprising that that the Longhorns worked their way out of the hole and into a commanding 4-1 lead by the fourth inning.
Thomas is chased
Texas chased Penguins starter Justin Thomas (7-3) after scoring four more in the sixth, including a two-run homer from Taylor Teagarden.
The sophomore allowed eight runs on 13 hits, three walks, five strikeouts and a pair of wild pitches.
"I wasn't as sharp as usually, but I made some good pitches and they hit 'em," Thomas said. "I got behind too much, and any mistakes I made, they capitalized on."
In today's elimination game (noon), the Penguins will face third-seeded Texas Christian (38-25), which fell 6-5 to second-seeded Oral Roberts.
The Horned Frogs, who won the Conference USA tournament and are making their third NCAA appearance, allowed 15 hits but still have top pitchers Clayton Jerome (9-5, 4.04 ERA) and Robbie Findlay (5-1, 2.68) on reserve.
Working with two outs in the second, the Penguins chiseled away at Simmons (10-3), using three straight singles to push across the game's first run.
Early momentum
Batting sixth, Adam Cox lifted a shallow single to center and Brian Boone lined the first pitch he from Simmons saw through the middle. Clint Ford's single squirted just to the left of second base, scoring Cox from second and giving Youngstown State the early momentum it wanted.
"We had the opportunities," Cox said, "but you can't miss any of them against a team like Texas, not if you're going to win."
Thomas, who went 7-2 with a 4.64 ERA during the regular season, sandwiched a pair of scoreless innings between Texas' two-run bursts in the second and fourth innings.
The sophomore who took down both Horizon League regular season champion Chicago-Illinois and Butler, ranked second in the conference, fanned five on a deceptive change-up but kept too many pitches up in the strike zone, allowing Texas to figure him about its second time around.