43
Banks’ blast leads YSU
By Jon moffett
Avon
Youngstown State’s Jeremy Banks had retribution on his mind when he stepped to the plate in the top of the 11th inning.
Having watched strike three go by during his last at-bat, Banks didn’t want to strand another runner. Instead, Banks crushed a fastball, and watch it sail over the left field wall.
The blast gave the Penguins a 10-8 lead and a much needed victory over Cleveland State at All Pro Freight Stadium on Friday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for YSU.
“I thought it was gone, but I wasn’t sure,” Banks said. “But when I saw the outfielder stop running, I knew it was gone. I wasn’t thinking about anything, I just wanted to drive it somewhere.”
The Penguins (20-24, 8-9 Horizon League) needed the victory to keep pace in the conference in preparation for the Horizon League tournament later this month. The Penguins and the Vikings (10-35, 3-13) will finish the series with a doubleheader today.
Despite the win, YSU coach Rich Pasquale said he experienced a range of emotions in a game in which the Penguins watched a lead dissipate three times.
The source of much of Pasquale’s frustration was the bullpen, which gave up three runs in five innings.
“I blew up a little bit at them because our pitchers need to step up,” Pasquale said.
Pasquale did not put all the blame on the pitching staff. He said the nine runners left on base was “unacceptable.”
“On the flip side, we left too many guys out there,” he said. “There were too many times that we could’ve broke the game open. So it goes both ways.”
Pasquale encourages his players to maintain hitting logs, and to record their positive and negative plate appearances. He said he hopes looking at the progressions will help fix any issues with hitting.
“We’re getting away from our offensive game plan,” he said. “We’re too good of a hitting team to do that.”
But it was what the team did which cannot be taught that impressed Pasquale the most.
The ability of the Penguins to rally late in the game was a sign of their persistence, he said.
“The most important thing, though, is that they stuck together,” he said. “They found a way. This team is tough, and I love this team. And that’s what we needed to do.”
Banks, a sophomore, agreed with Pasquale about the team dynamic.
“It says a lot about us,” he said. “We dropped the last five, but this shows we have heart, and hopefully this can be the start of something.”
Pasquale said he appreciates when players, such as Banks on Friday, lead by example. He said having leaders on the team makes his job much easier.
“That kid, I tell you what, that kid is a joy to coach,” Pasquale said of Banks. “He beats me to the batting cages for practice, he is constantly working on his craft, and is the most coachable kid I think I’ve ever met. He’s a joy to coach.”