A bad night all the way around for YSU softball
By Pete Mollica
The Penguins managed just five hits in a 7-1 Horizon League loss to Detroit at McCune Park on Wednesday.
CANFIELD — Youngstown State softball coach Brian Campbell can only hope better days are ahead for the Penguins.
YSU had a bad night at the plate, on the mound and in the field in a 7-1 loss to Detroit Wednesday evening at McCune Park.
What hurt even more is that the Titans (5-21, 1-6 HL) won for just the first time in conference play this year.
The Penguins (4-20, 2-5), who managed just five hits in the contest, played with the Titans for three innings before Detroit broke the game open with a five-run, seven-hit effort in the fourth inning that included two home runs.
“This was one of those games that you want to forget really quick,” said Campbell. “We did very little right tonight and you just want to put this out of your mind and get ready for tomorrow.
“Every time you put that uniform on you have to come ready to play and we didn’t today,” Campbell said. “We didn’t hit the ball well or advance the runners and we made some costly errors in the field.”
Junior pitcher Cheryl Cale (3-10), who had been pitching very well and was allowing less than two runs per game in conference play this season, was tagged for 13 hits and all seven runs she allowed were earned.
“This one is over and we just need to forget it and come out tomorrow ready to play and still have a chance at taking the series,” Campbell added.
The teams will play in a doubleheader today beginning at 1 p.m. at McCune Park. The teams were originally scheduled to play a doubleheader on Wednesday, but because of the early morning rain they agreed to moved the twinbill to today and play one Wednesday.
The Titans got to Cale for two runs in the first inning.
With one out, Erica Houthoofd walked and sophomore Ellen Sinclair, who leads the Horizon League in hitting with a .423 average, tripled down the right-field line for the first run. Courtney Gill then hit a fly ball to right that YSU’s Autumn Grove lost in the sun and dropped, allowing the second run to score.
While Cale was struggling through the Titans’ lineup, Detroit pitcher Jill Perry had the Penguins under control the entire game even though her teammates came up with four errors.
The Penguins did have runners on first and second in the second inning and again in the fourth, but never scored until the sixth when sophomore Ashley Conger led off with a single, was sacrificed to second by sophomore Kristina Rendle, took third on a wild pitch and scored on freshman Amanda Palmore’s sacrifice fly.
But the real damage by the Titans came in the fourth when they sent 10 batters to the plate.
Jessica Liebner led off with a single and sophomore Breana Sesoko slammed a home run to left field. After Rachel Copple and Chelsea Lathrop added two more singles, Cale settled down and retired the next two batters, but Sinclair then came up and drilled a line drive over the left-field fence for a three-run homer and a 7-0 lead.
All five of the Penguins’ hits were singles and two of them never got past the pitcher.
mollica@vindy.com