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Late-inning drama as YSU, Oakland split DH
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State and Oakland entered Wednesday’s doubleheader separated by just one game in the Horizon League standings.
After 17 innings of softball, it was clear not even that much separated the two teams. A walk-off hit gave the Penguins a 2-1 win in the first game and the Golden Grizzlies needed 10 innings to prevail 11-7 in game two to salvage a split.
YSU coach Brian Campbell’s gut contributed to the Penguins’ late-game heroics in the opening game at the YSU Softball Complex.
The Penguins (11-15, 4-1 HL) were threatening in the bottom half of the seventh inning of a 1-1 game. Miranda Castiglione was on second base and Cali Mikovich was at the plate with two outs. Mikovich fouled off the first pitch and Campbell asked for time from the coach’s box down the third base line.
He called for the Penguins’ lone senior on the roster, Kayla Haslett, to come in as a pinch-hitter. As he walked back to the coach’s box he reminded Haslett she already had a strike. She replied, “thanks Campbell” with a smirk — as if to say thanks a lot.
“Just a gut feeling,” the seventh-year coach said of the decision. “Haslett’s done a good job in practices of putting the ball in play. I looked at Miranda out there at second base and told her when the ball’s hit she’s gone.”
With a full count, Haslett hit one between third and short and the shortstop came up firing to first. Haslett beat out the throw and Castiglione came hustling down the line to score from second base to give the Penguins a 2-1 win.
Caitlyn Minney picked up the win on the mound, allowing five hits and one unearned run over seven innings. However, her work was far from over on the night.
The game one hero, Haslett, started the second game on the mound for the Penguins. But after allowing four runs over the first four innings, Campbell called for Minney to throw some more innings. In total, the sophomore threw 222 pitches over 13 innings and it was only after she ran out of gas in the 10th inning of game two that Oakland was able to really get to her.
“I think Minney pitched well all day long, even when we brought her back out in the second game,” Campbell said. “I thought that she did a tremendous job. I couldn’t be more proud of how she did.”
After the Golden Grizzlies (12-15, 3-2 HL) scored a pair in the top half of the seventh inning, Penguins sophomore Sarah Dowd crushed a pitch deep over the left-field wall to tie the game at 7 and force extra innings. It wasn’t until the 10th inning that Oakland senior Sara Cupp, who was 5-for-6 on the day, lined one to the center-field wall to score two runs. T.J. Bindus added insurance with a two-run home run.
“It was a battle,” Oakland coach Connie Miner said. “[YSU’s] a great ball club, we just happened to end up getting the runs we needed at the end to finish it.”
Freshman Stevie Taylor (South Range) led the Penguins at the plate in game two, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored.