43
Everything goes well for Penguins — until …
By JON MOFFETT
jmoffett@vindy.com
KENT
Photo
YSU's Anthony Porter (24) is tagged out at second by Kent State Jimmy Rider (1) during the top of the eighth inning of a game at Kent State's Schoonover Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Three hits, two walks, and a hit batter in the bottom of the ninth inning doomed the Youngstown State baseball team.
Coach Rich Pasquale was visibly disappointed after his team squandered a two-run lead in the final frame of Wednesday’s 6-5 loss against Kent State. The Penguins (8-8) had a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning.
“We had our plan in place all game, and this team has to finish games,” he said. “We have to learn how to close out teams, and we’re up and down on that this year.”
There was more up than down for the Penguins.
After three consecutive ground-outs in the first inning, and a fly out to begin the second, freshman third baseman Zac McFarland got the first hit for the Penguins.
His high, arching ball dropped in right field between three Kent State players. McFarland’s triple turned into the first Penguin run on a long fly out by junior first baseman Greg Dissinger.
A sacrifice fly by senior outfielder Tom Clayton brought in sophomore catcher Jonathan Crist put the Penguins up 4-0. The team’s other runs came off the hot bat of senior shortstop Jake Healey.
Healey hit two more home runs in three at bats against the Golden Flashes (8-12) and had three RBIs. Healey’s second long ball – and ninth of the season – put the Penguins up by five midway through the game.
With the bombs, Healey is now only two home runs shy of the school record for most such hits in a single year. So what does Healey think of the ever-approaching accomplishment?
Record, shmecord.
“We couldn’t get the win,” Healey said. “If it would’ve been a win, it would’ve been a lot better.”
Healey said he took the loss upon himself and the other hitters. The Penguins had only five hits, two of which came in the final two innings.
“We only had three hits going into the eighth inning, so no one can put it on the bullpen,” he said. “It was all on the hitters today.”
While the hitters tried to treat the ball like a pinata, the bullpen played musical chairs.
The Penguins featured eight pitchers, each tossing one inning before freshman Kevin McColloh was called upon in the eighth. Pasquale said the constant call to the bullpen was to give as many players as possible a little game experience before conference play begins Friday.
“It was important for our guys, going into conference play, to see some live action with only one game,” he said. “It does throw [your opponent] off every once in a while, going lefty-righty kind of thing.”
More than just a strategy, Pasquale said the brief appearances were also auditions.
“We wanted to know which of these guys are going to step up,” he said. “There are some guys we wanted to see, so we wanted them to show us they could do it.”
The auditions may have been prompted by the Penguins next opponent.
YSU will travel to Butler for a three-game stretch Friday and Saturday to open Horizon League play. The Bulldogs (6-11) eliminated the Penguins in the first round of the tournament last season.
While many coaches would say the next game on the schedule is simply the next contest to focus on, Pasquale said game against Butler is somewhat personal.
“I told my team, we owe them,” Pasquale said of Butler. “When you lose in the playoffs, everything is done; it ends. That’s hurtful, so we owe them ... We have something to prove.”