DiNello’s 3 RBIs power Penguins

Staff report

NILES

Nic Manuppelli and two relievers combined for a five-hit shutout as the Youngstown State baseball team defeated Oakland 5-0 on Saturday at Eastwood Field.

Nick DiNello came off the bench to drive in three runs for the Penguins.

Manuppelli surrendered four hits and two walks while striking out four batters in six innings to earn his first victory.

Alex Frey retired two batters in the seventh, and Kevin Yarabinec came in to pitch the final two-and-a-third innings to record his second save.

The Penguins, who also won the opener on Thursday to win the series, have registered victories in three of their last four games.

Manuppelli outdueled Oakland starter Jake Paulson, who came into the weekend leading the Horizon League in opposing batting average and ranking second in ERA.

All five runs were charged to the right-hander, four were earned. YSU’s first four runs all came with two outs.

DiNello finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBIs. Spencer Marentette was 2-for-4 to lead Oakland.

Manuppelli retired the first six batters and worked out of a jam in the third. He allowed two soft singles and walked a batter to load the bases with one out, but he got Robby Enslen to fly out to shallow right and Mike Borsseau to fly out to center to end the threat.

Paulson faced the minimum through three innings, but Jason Shirley’s leadoff single in the fourth kick-started YSU’s offense.

After DiNello replaced him on a fielder’s choice, Alex Larivee singled and Phil Lipari walked to load the bases. Matt Sullivan’s sacrifce fly to right brought in DiNello for the game’s first run.

DiNello came up with a clutch two-run single in the fifth to push YSU’s lead to 3-0.

The Penguins had runners at first and third with nobody out, but Paulson threw out Jake Ross at the plate on a safety squeeze and induced Shirley into a groundout. DiNello’s single dropped in front of a diving Enslen in right, allowing Lorenzo Arcuri and Shane Willoughby to score.

The Penguins added another run on Ross’s two-out RBI double that scored Sullivan in the sixth, and DiNello’s single in the seventh plated Willoughby on Paulson’s last batter.