Villanova rallies to defeat YSU

Special to The Vindicator

Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Villanova scored all of its runs after the fourth inning and overcame an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Youngstown State baseball team 9-3 on Sunday at the Villanova Ballpark on Sunday.

YSU scored twice in the top of the first, but the short-handed Penguins had just three hits the rest of the game. YSU also grounded into three double plays.

Kyle McMyne earned the win for Villanova, holding the Penguins (8-7) to one earned run on five hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings. Alex Oles suffered the loss for YSU despite allowing just three hits and two walks in five innings.

Jeremy Banks went 2-for-4 and scored to lead YSU. Leadoff hitter Matt Szczur went 4-for-5 and hit one of Villanova’s two home runs to lead the Wildcats (14-3).

Playing without starters Eric Marzec and Armani Johnson because of a collision on Saturday, the Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead off McMyne in the first. Eric Hymel reached on a fielding error to start the game, and followed with a single. Jacke Healey drove in Hymel on a sacrifice fly, and Anthony Porter brought in Banks with a single to center.

McMyne retired nine straight batters after Porter’s single in the first, and he didn’t allow another hit until Banks’ one-out single in the sixth.

Oles was just as impressive as he retired the first seven batters he faced, and he didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the third. He retired two of the first three Wildcats in the fifth, but the next four hitters all reached as Villanova went ahead 3-2. Szczur singled in the first run, and Dain Hall brought in Szczur and Justin Bencsko on a triple to center.

The Wildcats scored twice in the sixth on another Szczur RBI single and a wild pitch, and David Koczirka homered to lead off the seventh to make the score 6-2.

Hymel brought in C.J. Morris on a ground out in the eighth to bring the Penguins within three runs, but the Wildcats answered with three runs on three hits in the bottom half of the frame.