Unlucky 13: Penguins are swept by Wright State

The Raiders defeated Youngstown State, 13-6 and 13-4, at Eastwood Field.

By RYAN JONES

Vindicator correspondent

NILES — The Youngstown State baseball team dropped two of its first three meetings to Wright State this season on the Raiders’ final at-bat.

Friday’s doubleheader against the Raiders was the polar opposite for the Penguins (13-32, 9-13 Horizon League), who lost 13-6 and 13-4 at Eastwood Field.

Wright State pounded out 33 hits, 14 of them for extra bases, including seven home runs.

“Our pitching just wasn’t good enough,” YSU coach Rich Pasquale said. “At times we made some good pitches, but we weren’t able to make the out pitch. Every time we made a mistake they [Wright State] hit it. They did a good job swinging the bat with two strikes, and did a good job with situational hitting.”

First basemen Jeremy Banks was one of the bright spots for YSU. The freshman went 3-for-6 with two homers, five RBIs and two runs scored.

Pasquale said Banks and freshmen Derek Carr have come into their own over the past month.

“They are going to be special players for us,” he said. “I thought they had good at-bats and even though we were down big they didn’t mail it in when they could have. One of the reasons they are improving is because they are coachable guys who are starting to embrace the learning curve.”

In the opener, Wright State rode its explosive offense — and three home runs.

After Wright State put one run on the board in the top of the first, Banks lifted a two-run homer right center that scored teammate John Koehnlein to give YSU a 2-1 lead.

The Penguins’ timely hitting continued when C.J. Morris belted a three-run homer to left in the fourth inning to give the Penguins a 5-3 lead.

“C.J. gave us a big lead and a lot of momentum with his homer,” Pasquale said. “But we weren’t able to do anything with it. We had the chance to put up a zero in the next inning and build on our momentum, but we weren’t able to do that.”

The Raiders responded with Casey McGrew’s three-run homer in the fifth and took a 7-5 advantage.

Wright State scored one run in the sixth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth as YSU’s relievers struggled with their command.

Greg Robinson and Tyler Newhart (West Branch) combined to throw 51‚Ñ3 innings of one-run ball in relief for the Raiders.

The Penguins were led by Koehnlein, who went 3-for-4 with three singles and two runs scored, while Banks and Morris each colleged two hits and three RBIs.

In the nightcap, the Raiders smacked four more home runs in a game that was called in the seventh inning after a 33-minute rain delay.

Carr (two hits, two runs and one RBI) and Banks (two-run homer) led the Penguins.

Pasquale said his team needs starting pitchers Phil Klein and Matt Tucker to have solid outings against Valparaiso in a doubleheader today at Eastwood Field. The first game is scheduled to start at noon.

“We need to help our bullpen out,” he said. “Our starters went five and 22‚Ñ3 innings today. We must keep playing the game, and I know we will. We’ve had 17 or 18 games this season decided by one or two runs. Our record might indicate a losing season, but I don’t think of it that way because this team never quits.”