Phillips ignites Penguins

He hit a home run and double in a 6-2 victory over Ohio University.
NILES -- On the eve of the biggest night of his athletic career, Jim Phillips made things just a little sweeter for himself and the Youngstown State University baseball team.
Phillips, who tonight will be honored as the YSU's Vindicator Male Athlete of the Year, homered and doubled Wednesday at Eastwood, Field, leading the Penguins to a 6-2 win over Ohio University.
"It was really nice to have a big game," said Phillips who drove in four runs "And it kept our winning streak going. Plus it just made it more exciting going into tomorrow night."
Sixth straight win
The win was YSU's sixth straight and gives them 23 of their past 28 games.
"We took our lumps early in the year," Penguins coach Mike Flora said," but it's come back to strengthen us."
YSU wasted little time jumping on OU for four runs in the first inning. Phillips' homer, a three run shot over the left-field fence, was the big blow while Dustin Thomas' RBI single produced the other run.
"It was a curve ball," said Phillips of the homerun pitch. "It looked like it was just left up a little bit."
While Phillips was leading the hit parade, Brian Boone was taking control of things on the mound.
Boone pitched five shutout innings, yielding three harmless singles. Eight of his 15 outs went to the YSU outfielders.
"I'm not much of a strikeout pitcher," Boone said. "I'm going to get most of my outs either that way or on groundouts.
"After we got those four runs in the first, I knew I had some breathing room," said Boone (2-0). "Plus today, I felt real good coming in. It seems I'm getting stronger with each start."
YSU's middle relief proved subpar however as OU got back into the game with a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to pull within two 4-2.
Two Penguins relievers threw 24 pitches in sixth and another 32 in the seventh. That compared to only 62 over five frames for Boone.
Still, Florak noted that his pitching worked out just as planned.
He said he was only going to go with Boone for five innings and noted, "Brian has come along way since he's added his slider. It's coming together for him on the mound."
Phillips' double scored Banks in the eighth and Brian Dill's RBI hit scored Erich Diedrich for a 6-2 lead.
Career RBI season
For Phillips, the four RBIs gave him 31 on the year, breaking his career high of 30 set during his sophomore season. His homer, his third of the year, ties him for the team lead.
"It seems like everyone is playing well," Phillips said. "And we all seem to be feeding off of each other. This team has played a major roll in my accomplishments. They've pushed me every day at practice."
The Penguins next see action this weekend with four games versus Kent State.
YSU travels to Kent for a pair on Friday and then host the Golden Flashes in a twinbill on Sunday.
"I'm not worried about the doubleheaders," Florak said. "I'm more concerned with playing Kent State. They're a tough team."