Wednesday, May 20, 2009
LORAIN, Ohio — The Youngstown State baseball team trimmed an early five-run deficit to one, but the Penguins could not complete the comeback in a 7-6 loss to Butler in the play-in game of the Horizon League baseball tournament.
The Penguins (16-35) fell behind 5-0 and 7-2 before mounting their rally. All of Butler’s runs were scored with two outs, and four of the runners who crossed the plate reached on a walk.
“The whole year we’ve been fighting back, and our guys just never quit,” coach Rich Pasquale said. “That’s what we do here. We never stop coming at you.”
Eric Marzec hit a three-run homer in his first game in more than a month to cut the score to 7-5 in the sixth, and Anthony Porter’s solo homer in the seventh made the score 7-6. YSU had one-out singles in the eighth and ninth but could not get the tying run in.
YSU’s first team All-Horizon League pitcher Phil Klein had an off day, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks in three innings.
It was his shortest start of the season, and his four walks were the most since issuing five at Towson on March 7.
Jeremy Banks went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and Porter added three hits for YSU.
Butler starter Jeff Sinkiewicz kept the Penguins off balance early before Marzec’s homer forced from the game. He allowed 10 hits through five innings, but it was good enough to earn his first win of the season.
YSU ended up out-hitting Butler 13-8 for the game and 11-2 after the third inning. The Penguins’ bullpen of Jim Kinnick, Trent Wood and Anthony Munoz allowed two runs on two hits in six innings.
Grant Fillipitch went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs to lead Butler.
Youngstown State got on the board with a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly. Banks led off with a double, and Porter followed with a hard single to right that put runners at the corners. Sinkiewicz struck out Jonathan Crist, and Joe Iacobucci followed with a fly ball to left center that plated Banks. C.J. Morris singled, but Marzec grounded out to end the inning.
Banks drove home David Leon with a two-out single in the fifth to make the score 5-2.