YSU softball drops twin bill to Loyola

By Pete Mollica

The Penguins’ home openers had a 4-1 loss in Game 1 and a 6-5, eight-inning loss in Game 2.

CANFIELD — The Youngstown State softball team was unable to come up with the clutch hits in Saturday’s Game 1 and then couldn’t put the game away in Game 2.

The results at McCune Park were a season home-opening doubleheader loss to Loyola which was also the Horizon League opening games for both teama.

The Penguins left 11 base runners stranded in the opener while dropping a 4-1 decision. In the nightcap the Penguins, after falling behind 4-0, eventually suffered a 6-5 defeat in eight innings to the Ramblers.

YSU (2-16, 0-2) and Loyola (13-7, 2-0) will wind up their series with today’s 11 a.m. contest at McCune Park.

In the opener, Loyola scored all four runs and had four of its six hits in the first two innings. Two of the runs were unearned because of a YSU error in the second inning.

Junior pitcher Cheryl Cale struggled through the first two innings, but then settled down and pitched scoreless, two-hit ball the final five innings.

But her teammates couldn’t get her any runs.

“Cheryl has had some problems early in the game most of the spring, but once she settles down she take control like she did today,” YSU head coach Brian Campbell said.

“We’ve been having trouble scoring runs and coming up with clutch hits,” Campbell said. “They’ve been battling right to the end, but we just haven’t put anybody away.”

The Penguins outhit the Ramblers 9-6 in the opener with a couple of freshman, Jordan Ingalls and Haley Thomas, leading the way with two hits each including a double. Also with two were freshman Kristen Philen.

The Penguins had the bases loaded twice with less than two outs and didn’t score. They had runners in scoring positions two other innings to no avail.

In the nightcap, the Penguins also finished with nine hits. Four of them were by sophomore Kim Klonowski, including a pair of home runs, her first of the season, She also had four runs batted in.

“That was a first-time experience for me,” Klonowski said. “I’ve never hit two homers in a game before today.”

It was the seventh time that the feat has been down by a Penguin, the last time a year ago by McKenzie Bedra, who did it three times over her career with the Penguins.

“I don’t know what it was today,” Klonowski said. “Some days things just go right and today was my day.”

After the Penguins fell behind 4-0 in the third inning, they rallied for one run on a pair of hits by junior Autumn Grove and Klonowski. Grove scored on a fielders choice, beating the throw home from short.

In the fourth inning, the Penguins tied the contest when Thomas doubled and Grove singled to open the inning and Klonowski slammed her first homer to dead center field.

Ingalls, who was tagged for 11 hits while suffering her seventh mound loss against just one win, allowed the Ramblers to regain the lead in the sixth.

She gave up a lead off double to Alexandra Trudnich, who eventually scored on the Penguins’ second error of the game.

The Penguins came back to tie the game again with one out as Klonowski smashed the first pitch to her for her second homer deep over the left-field fence in the seventh.

But Ingalls wasn’t able to hold off the Ranglers as she gave up an eighth inning home run to Trudnich.

The Penguins had runners on first and second, but Grove struck out with Klonowski on deck to end the game.

mollica@vindy.com