YSU baseball falls twice to Kent

By Pete Mollica

The Penguins lost 12-0 and 6-3, and coach Rich Pasquale wasn’t happy.

NILES — Youngstown State baseball coach Rich Pasquale wanted to get his team some mid-week games to get ready for a big weekend in the Horizon League, but Wednesday’s doubleheader loss to Kent State wasn’t what he had in mind.

The Penguins (10-26) were run over by the No. 25-ranked Golden Flashes in the opening game, 12-0, and played better in the second game, but still dropped a 6-3 decision. Both games were seven inning contests.

The Penguins hadn’t played since last weekend against Milwaukee and Pasquale wanted to get some work for his team before they have to tackle a pair of doubleheaders this weekend — at Milwaukee on Saturday and at Butler on Sunday — in Horizon League action.

But Pasquale wasn’t pleased with the team’s efforts at Eastwood Field.

“The first game was really embarrassing,” said Pasquale. “We didn’t pitch well, didn’t hit well or field well, it was just an embarrassment.

“We played better in the second game after we got through the first inning,” he added. “The whole intention was to get these guys some work before heading into a very important weekend in the Horizon League.

“I really didn’t say much to them after that first game, but they knew how I felt,” Pasquale said.

In the opening game against the Flashes (30-8) the Penguins managed just one base hit, a second inning single by junior Casey Holland. The Penguins had only three runners against three Kent State pitchers and none got to second base.

Kent State ripped out 13 hits, including three home runs, two of them by senior Jason Patton, both solo blasts, and the other by junior Jared Humphries.

All but one of the Flashes’ starters hit safely in the game and the only one who didn’t was former South Range High standout Greg Rohan, who came into Wednesday leading the Flashes with a .346 batting average and a team-high eight home runs and 37 RBIs.

Both teams used the two games to get some work for pitchers who hadn’t had much work lately. They used 14 pitchers in the 14 innings, seven by each team.

Freshman Jimmy Kinnick of Austintown Fitch started the opener for YSU but was tagged for seven runs and six hits in the first three innings before being relieved by Corey Vukovic, who allowed five more runs and seven hits in four innings.

All three Kent State pitchers — David Starn, Brannon Belair and Steven Davis — were on pitch counts and each went just over two innings with Starn getting the win.

In the second game YSU starter Cody Dearth allowed four runs in the first inning on three hits and a pair of walks, but then he settled down and retired the final seven batters he faced before giving way to Aaron Swenson, who worked one scoreless inning.

Trailing 4-0 the Penguins cut the lead in the second inning when junior catcher Anthony Porter ripped a three-run homer to right field, but the Penguins never threatened again as Kent State brought in top reliever Justin Gill for two innings and closer Andrew Chafin to finish out the game.

Kent added two more runs off YSU reliever Matt Tucker in the sixth inning on only one hit as Tucker walked two and hit a batter before Jimmy Rider singled home two runs.

Porter and sophomore Joe Iacobucci both had a pair of hits for the Penguins.

Each team had seven hits in the nightcap.

mollica@vindy.com