Page’s power trip helps Niagara fall

By Pete Mollica

The senior blasted another homer as YSU won 13-3 in seven innings.

STRUTHERS — Senior Josh Page had one home run in his first 164 games as a member of the Youngstown State baseball team.

In his last 13 games, he’s hit three.

He connected again in the third inning of Tuesday’s game at Cene Park, ignited a rally that continued for three innings and produced a 13-3 victory over Niagara in a contest stopped after seven innings.

Page’s homer came with one out in the third, the Penguins’ first run of the game, and his teammates followed that with five straight singles and three more runs, then sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth inning that produced eight more hits and seven runs to turn the contest into a rout.

“You always like to see your team hit the ball they way we did today, but it is something that we’ve been working on for some time now,” said YSU (13-20) coach Rich Pasquale.

“We’ve been working at being patient at the plate, but also being aggressive when the good pitch comes,” he said. “Today we waited, took some walks and hit the ball well.

“We also got a great pitching effort from senior Adam Kalafos, who has been solid in his last several outings, and we really need his arm in the rotation,” Pasquale said.

Kalafos (3-3) went all seven innings and allowed just five hits, while striking out nine batters and walking just two.

He retired the first nine Purple Eagles in order and didn’t come close to trouble until the fifth when he allowed two singles and both of his walks, as Niagara scored twice. The Purple Eagles also scored once in the sixth after a leadoff double by Tim Alberts before Kalafos retired the last six batters he faced.

The Penguins had only one hit over the first two innings before Page hit a line shot down the left field line that easily cleared the fence.

Page, who finished 4-for-4 at the plate, also reached when his sacrifice bunt was mishandled.

“I’m seeing the ball much better right now,” Page said. “Hitting is contagious and that’s what happened out there today; we just started and everybody joined in.”

Kalafos said he felt good on the mound and he only got in trouble after the Penguins had the long fourth inning.

“But when you get the support that I got today you can pitch through anything,” Kalafos said. “That’s about the third time this year that these guys have [scored] double-digits behind me.”

Every player in the YSU lineup had at least one hit as the Penguins had 17 as a team. Page’s homer was the only one for extra bases.

The Penguins sent 21 batters to the plate in the third and fourth inning, batting around in the third and sending 12 to the plate in the fourth. Those two innings produced 14 of the team’s 17 hits and 11 of the 13 runs.

The Penguins will take on Ohio University today in a 3 p.m. start at Eastwood Field and then will host back-to-back doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday. They meet Butler Saturday at 1 p.m. and UW-Milwaukee Sunday with an 11 a.m. start.

mollica@vindy.com