Macey escapes slump in YSU victory
By STEVE WILAJ
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State’s Jordan Macey has kept busy behind the scenes as she worked through a hitting slump.
The sophomore has been taking extra hitting reps with Penguins assistant coach Tiffany Patteson in an attempt to adjusti her swing and her mindset.
“I’ve just been trying to go in there, not pressure myself and just have fun for once,” Macey said.
She had a blast Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Macey went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs to lead the Penguins to a 4-2 victory at the YSU Softball Complex. She entered the game with just three hits and two RBIs in 20 games.
“Oh my gosh, it felt amazing,” she said. “It’s just what I needed to get out of this slump.
“I’ve always been one of the smaller hitters and never really had that feeling of carrying the team. So it felt amazing to come through in a big game.”
Macey doubled in the third inning, but was stranded on second. Macey doubled again in the fourth, this time with the bases loaded, and drove in two runs to make it 3-0. Katie Smallcomb’s sacrifice fly had given YSU (14-10) a 1-0 lead earlier in the inning.
“She really stepped up and did a great job,” Penguins head coach Brian Campbell said. “When you go down through your lineup, there are certain ones that have done a great job. So it’s nice when those who are struggling step in there — just wonderful to see.”
Macey added an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. That hit came off of Pitt reliever Savannah King, but her doubles were against Panthers starter Alexa Larkin (3-4). Macey faced while at North Allegheny High School, near Pittsburgh.
“I knew a couple of the pitches she threw,” Macey said. “I think that gave me an advantage today.”
Penguins starting pitcher Casey Crozier (8-3) pitched four scoreless innings for the win.
Crozier was relieved by Kayla Haslett, who allowed a two-run home run to Maggie Sevilla in the top of the sixth as Pitt (8-14) cut YSU’s lead to 3-2. But Haslett recovered for a flawless seventh inning to earn her first save.
“She did a good job of bouncing back,” Campbell said. “Casey threw four good ones and Kayla did a nice job of coming in and shutting them down. Defensively, we played solid.”
Sarah Dowd added two hits and a run for YSU, while Samantha Snodgrass had a hit and a run scored.
The victory was the Penguins’ second victory this season against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. The first came against Virginia.
“The girls were talking going into today about being 2-0 against the ACC,” Campbell said. “So they really wanted to go out and do that and they were able to achieve that tonight.”