Schiffhauer strong, but YSU falls

The Penguins couldn't take advantage of four Wright State errors in a 3-2 loss.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- As a freshman last season, Youngstown State's Chuck Schiffhauer pitched a measly 61/3 innings in five relief appearances. When the season ended, he knew he needed to get better.
"College is a whole new level," he said. "I worked really hard after the end of last season to get ready for this year."
All that work in the offseason has led to more work during the season. Schiffhauer made his sixth start of the spring Sunday against Wright State, surrendering just one run on two hits in six innings.
"My main goal is just to throw strikes," said Schiffhauer, who entered the game with the second-best ERA on the team (3.74). "I try to let the hitters get themselves out. We've got eight other guys out there and I'm pretty confident in my defense."
YSU's defense was pretty good Sunday, but the offense struggled. After outscoring Wright State 15-2 to sweep Saturday's doubleheader, the Penguins couldn't muster much offense in a 3-2 Horizon League loss at Eastwood Field.
"It would have been nice to get all three [games]," said YSU coach Mike Florak. "The effort was there, but we have room for a lot of improvement.
"We need to tighten things up in all facets of the game."
Missed opportunities
The Penguins (12-17, 4-5 HL) managed just six hits and failed to take advantage of several Raider mistakes. Tied 1-1 in the sixth inning, the Penguins had runners at first and third with one out -- both reached on errors -- but a double play ended the threat.
In the seventh, trailing 3-1, YSU's Josh Page reached on an error, Mike Turjanica followed with a single and J.D. Hannan laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. But two groundouts cost the Penguins the chance for a big inning.
"We need to find a way to push the runs across," said Florak, whose team entered the series with the second-highest batting average in the Horizon League. "Our hitters needed to make some adjustments earlier and they didn't do that."
Cleanup hitter Lou Gattozzi led the Penguins with two hits and an RBI. Thanks to two errors, he reached base all four times. He was one of the few Penguins to have any success against Wright State starter Robert Barrett, who gave up just one earned run and struck out seven in 62/3 innings.
"[Barrett] mixes his pitches well and he did a good job of keeping us off balance," said Gattozzi, who entered the game hitting .362. "It was a tough loss. They had four errors and we didn't capitalize.
"It's nice to win the series, but after dominating them yesterday [in 9-1 and 6-1 victories], you want to get that third game."
On a roll
YSU has won four of its last five series. After playing 25 of their first 26 games on the road, the Penguins are happy to be back at Eastwood Field.
"It's definitely nice to be home," Gattozzi said. "That [road trip] was a grind. At home, you have a nice backing and you get an added boost of confidence."
YSU got its first run in the third on a single by Brandon Caipen, who stole second and scored on Gattozzi's single.
Wright State (15-12, 7-5) scored a run in the fifth on a double by Aaron Garcia, who moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Raiders scored two more in the seventh thanks to two singles, a walk, a wild pitch and a failed pickoff attempt.
Conclusion? The Raiders took advantage of mistakes and YSU didn't.
"We can do a lot better and we need to do a lot better," said Schiffhauer. "We're trying to win our conference and everyone needs to step it up."
scalzo@vindy.com