Pitt rallies to defeat Youngstown State

By Tom Williams

PITTSBURGH — Jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead, Wednesday looked like it would be a beautiful day for baseball for Youngstown State University.

But after Mother Nature turned nasty with cold precipitation, the Penguins’ fortunes were washed away as the University of Pittsburgh rallied for a rain-shortened 7-4 victory at Trees Field.

Rain fell consistently from the fourth inning on, prompting home plate umpire Joe Volpe to call the game after the Penguins (4-16) batted in the top of the sixth inning.

YSU head coach Rich Pasquale had no problem with the decision to shorten the game.

“It’s not going anywhere,” Pasquale said of the chilly rain that had made the outfield grass slippery. “We don’t want to get anybody hurt.”

The game might have ended sooner, except that Panthers (13-6) coach Joe Jordano “wanted his guys to hit with what we were [facing],” Pasquale said of the fifth inning.

Earlier this decade, Pasquale was an assistant coach for Pitt.

“Joe is a class act,” Pasquale said.

But after Cory Brownsten slipped while singling to open Pitt’s fifth inning, both coaches agreed a drying agent was needed for the batter’s box.

The Penguins pounced on Panthers starter Kevin Dooley, knocking him out before the first inning ended. Producing clutch two-out hits were Jacke Healey, Anthony Porter Greg Dissinger and Eric Hymel.

“Our approaches were good at the plate,” Pasquale said. “We stole [two] bases.”

With C.J. Morris at third base and Eric Marzec at second, Healey connected on Dooley’s 2-0 pitch for a single to center field for a 2-0 lead.

“People have been trying to get me out chasing curveballs,” said Healey who leads the Penguins with 22 RBIs. After watching change-ups down and in, Healey’s patience paid off.

“I consider myself a decent fastball hitter,” Healey said of the pitch he sent up the middle. “It wouldn’t have happened if there weren’t runners on second and third.”

After Healey stole second base, Porter singled for a three-run lead. Hymel added a RBI single.

“It was a different ballgame today,” Healey said of the lead. “It seems that sometimes we either hit the ball well [or] pitch the ball well or play defense well [but] we just can’t seem to put a solid game together, even in our wins.

“We’ve still had shaky moments,” Healey said. “We’ve got to keep building.”

The Panthers had Penguins starter Matt Tucker in trouble in their first three at-bats but only could produce an unearned run in the second inning. Porter said playing with a lead was a nice change.

“We’ve kinda been scoring late, spotting [opponents] runs then trying to make it up,” the Boardman High graduate said. “[A lead] helps the pitcher relax a little. Matt worked pretty well in the first three.”

A third-inning double play and Porter catching baserunner Danny Lopez trying to steal second kept the Penguins ahead, 4-1.

In the fourth inning, the Panthers scored six times with six hits.

“It was unfortunate that Matt had the inning that he had,” Pasquale said. “I was pleased with our defense — we turned a couple of double plays.”

Porter said the rain affects the pitcher the most.

“In calling the game, it threw off a little bit what I wanted to do,” Porter said. “Controlling the running game is sometimes difficult with the wet ball.”

Ryan Messmer pitched a scoreless fifth inning.

“He’s been struggling a little so hopefully this will give him some confidence,” Pasquale said. “I don’t think we’re a 4-16 team — we come to play hard every day.”

The Penguins are off today to travel to Chicago where they will, weather-permitting, play Illinois-Chicago three games this weekend.

williams@vindy.com