Marshall quiets YSU bats; softball team snaps skid

staff report

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Four Marshall pitchers combined to throw a five-hit shutout as the Thundering Herd defeated the Youngstown State baseball team 4-0 on Friday.

The group joined forces to outduel Aaron Swenson, who allowed all four of his runs in the fifth and sixth innings. He surrendered seven hits, walked three and went the distance in his best start of the season.

Senior lefty Andrew Blain held the Penguins to three hits and walked two in six innings before handing the ball off to the bullpen. Tyler Gatrell and Brian Mooney worked in the seventh, and Ian Kadish tossed the final two innings.

John Koehnlein walked and had two of YSU’s five hits, and Eric Hymel was the only other starter to record a hit. Casey Holland and Brian Solitario had leadoff hits off the bench in the eighth and ninth.

Swenson allowed two hits in the first four innings before Marshall broke through for two runs on three hits in the fifth. Thor Meeks and Kenny Socorro led off the inning with back-to-back doubles, and Ben Jurevicius’ RBI single put the Herd up 2-0.

Victor Gomez hit a two-run homer in the sixth for Marshall’s only other runs.

The Penguins had opportunities to score, but Marshall’s pitchers kept answering.

Hymel was thrown out at the plate to end the third inning when he tried to score on Koehnlein’s single to left. The pair had back-to-back, one-out singles in the sixth, but Blain got a fielder’s choice and fly out for his final two outs.

Holland hit a leadoff double in the eighth, and Solitario was retired on a double play after he led off the ninth with a single.

Gomez was the only Marshall player to record two hits.

Softball wins

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Youngstown State snapped a long losing streak in its final game of the Rebel Spring Games with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory in eight innings over LaSalle.

The Penguins lost 2-1 in eight innings to Bryant earlier in the day.

Trailing LaSalle, 4-2, Kim Klonowski, Autumn Grove and Allyse Ledford each walked to load the bases to lead off the top of the seventh.

Ashley Conger, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, laced a single up the middle to score pinch-runner Jessica Sciacca and Grove to tie the score.

In the eighth, YSU’s Jordan Ingalls, who picked up her first college win, was placed on second. Ingalls advanced to third on Haley Thomas’ sacrifice bunt and scored the go-ahead run on an error.

In the bottom half of the eighth, the Penguins made two outstanding defensive plays to secure the win.

Against Bryant, junior Cheryl Cale tossed a complete-game three hitter with three strikeouts but took the loss.

Kristen Philen had an RBI single for YSU.