YSU sweeps league rival

The Penguins posted 2-1 and 12-7 victories over the UIC Flames.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NILES -- Prior to a weekend series with the league-leading University of Illinois-Chicago Flames, YSU baseball coach Mike Florak noted that he wanted his team to play up to its capability, hoping to gain some much needed momentum as the Penguins eye one of the top remaining seeds in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament.
It took a heart-to-heart talk with his team after Friday night's disappointing 7-2 loss, but the message got through loud and clear as his Penguins swept the Flames, 2-1 and 12-7 Saturday to snap a nine-game losing streak against UIC that dated to last season.
"We needed to play better ball this weekend and that we did. We aren't playing great, but we are getting better," Florak said.
"These were two big wins for us today. We still have a chance to finish second in the league and with that comes a first-round bye. That is our goal right now.
Closer slams door
"Ryan [Sellman] has been so reliable; so consistent all season long. We needed that today. He's our closer and he slammed the door on them for us today.
"It was also big for us to get to .500 in the league. With Wisconsin-Milwaukee coming in this weekend, we're hoping to draw a nice crowd as our fans really do make a big difference."
Sellman, whose 26th mound appearance this season tied the mark that he and teammate Kevin Libeg set a year ago, picked up the win in relief in the opener. He then nailed down the save in the nightcap, having posted a win and two saves this past week.
"These were two huge wins for us. I've been here two years and these are my first two wins over UIC," Sellman said.
"I didn't have a lot of zip on my ball today so I just concentrated on hitting the zone. It's a great feeling to know that Coach [Florak] has confidence in me when it matters."
Brandon Caipen's single with two outs scored John Koehnlein in the bottom of the ninth in the opener, giving the Penguins a 2-1 victory and their first-walk-off win of the season.
Sweet spot
"He gave me a fastball right where I like it so I was able to drive it. We don't have a great history with UIC so it was great to get these two wins today," Caipen said.
"Ryan had the right stuff. He hit his spots and kept batters off-balance in both games," he added.
In the nightcap the Penguins scored four times in the first inning, fell behind 7-4 then rallied to score eight unanswered runs over the final five innings for a 12-7 victory.
Erich Diedrich had three hits and scored three runs, while Brent Parks plated five teammates with his two safeties as YSU (22-26, 12-12) evened their league mark and sent the Flames (27-17, 17-6) to just their eighth loss in their last 32 outings.
"With a first-round bye still on the line, this gives us the confidence we need as we look to our series this weekend with Wisconsin-Milwaukee," Florak said.
"These two wins were huge because we beat an excellent team today," Parks noted. "We needed that talk from coach. I'm just glad that we were able to respond the way that we did today."
The Penguins will take time off for final exams this week, then will play host to UW-Milwaukee at Eastwood Field Friday (6 p.m.) and a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.