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Diamond divergence
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Haslett
Penguin starter Kayla Haslett keeps CSU off-balance in win
By Ryan Buck
canfield
Kayla Haslett isn’t known throughout the Youngstown State softball program as an overpowering presence on the pitcher’s mound. And that’s just fine with her.
One strikeout was all she and the Penguins (19-6-1, 5-1 Horizon League) needed to put away Cleveland State (8-26, 1-5) 7-1 Sunday at McCune Park.
The Penguins completed a weekend series sweep of their conference foe, thanks in large part to the performance of their starting pitcher.
“I try to get people to hit dinky ground balls because I don’t strike people out,” said Haslett. “I try to play to my strengths and that is keeping it low, having a drop ball, changeups, and off-speed.”
A freshman from Baden, Pa., Haslett scattered seven hits and kept the Viking hitters off-balance throughout. Her fifth win was a complete game effort.
In game one of Saturday’s doubleheader win, Haslett pitched seven-plus innings and had a good idea of what it would take to keep the Vikings at bay once again.
“I mostly tried to keep it low and throw off their best hitter, [Dara] Toman,” added Haslett.
After allowing Toman, Cleveland State’s leadoff hitter, to come around and score in the first inning, Haslett and the Penguin defense never allowed a runner to reach third base for the rest of the game.
Of the 21 outs recorded by YSU, 15 were credited to the Penguins’ infield. They were also flawless defensively, committing no errors.
“They did a great job defensively. Haslett’s not going to strike a lot of kids out. She’s going to make the defense work behind her and I thought that the defense behind her played really well,” Youngstown State coach Brian Campbell said.
Shortstop Kristen Philen and center fielder Haley Thomas smashed solo home runs in a three-run third inning that gave the Penguins the lead for good. Consecutive two-out hits from right Jordan Ingalls and Catcher Vicky Rumph added another score.
The onslaught continued in the fourth inning when YSU loaded the bases with no outs. Sarah Gabel and Sarah Ingalls scored on walks before Philen ran home on Jordan Ingalls sacrifice fly to deep left field.
“We teach the kids to hit line shots, line drives and hard on the ground to make the defense work. Both those [home runs] were line shots that ended up going out of the park,” said Campbell.
“We also turned it into the small ball to put more runs on the board and I think you were able to see both aspects of the game in two different innings.”