Valpo eliminates Youngstown State

Two-out scoring, Lundeen’s shutout

end Penguins’ season in HL Tournament

Staff report

WHITING, IND.

Valparaiso scored seven two-out runs and got a shutout performance from Dalton Lundeen in an 8-0 victory over the Youngstown State baseball team in the Horizon League Tournament on Wednesday at Oil City Stadium.

With the opening round being single elimination, YSU’s season, and its attempt to defend its 2014 tournament title, came to a close. The Penguins finished 16-34.

Valparaiso will move on to play either top-seeded UIC or second-seeded Wright State in the double-elimination part of the bracket today.

Lundeen, the preseason Horizon League Pitcher of the Year who had a disappointing regular season, saved his best for his postseason start against the Penguins. The junior left-hander struck out five of YSU’s first eight hitters, and he was able to make outs in key situations. While Valparaiso’s offense went 6-for-19 with runners on base and posted eight of its 12 hits with two outs, the Penguins were 1-for-12 with men on base and 2-for-10 with two outs. Lundeen finished with seven strikeouts and surrendered seven hits and two walks in his 141-pitch outing.

Kevin Hix led the Penguins with two hits in the final game of his career, and Frank Califano’s bunt single to start the game extended his hitting streak to 19 games. That’s the longest streak by a YSU player since 2007 when John Koehnlein hit safely in 27 straight games and Erich Diedrich had a 19-game streak.

Califano’s single to start the game was the first of five times that the Penguins got the leadoff runner on. YSU even had the first two hitters reach in both the seventh and eighth innings but couldn’t crack Lundeen. He induced a pair of double plays, and the only two-out hits he gave up were with no runners on base.

YSU starter Joe King allowed three runs in four innings, and Josh North gave up the two-run double to Edwards. Ryan Krokos pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, and Austin Lujano and Anthony Konders were both charged with runs in the ninth.