Flashes rally to beat struggling Penguins

April 14, 2016 at 12:10a.m.

By CHARLES GROVE

KENT

Youngstown State plated two runs in the top of the first, but the bats were quiet throughout the night as the Penguins baseball team fell at Kent State 5-2 at Schoonover Stadium.

Alex Larivee scored in the first on a wild pickoff throw by Kent State freshman pitcher Connor Wollersheim and YSU doubled its lead two batters later when Gerrad Rohan lifted a sacrifice fly to right field and the Penguins were in business.

And despite holding a lead until the sixth inning, that was it for a Penguins offense struggling to score runs.

YSU starting pitcher Jeremy Quinlan pitched just two innings, allowing one hit and working around three walks. Quinlan was pulled early to allow him to be ready to pitch Saturday when the Penguins play Northern Kentucky.

The YSU bullpen went seven innings tonight after head coach Steve Gillispie tried to get as many arms into the game as possible since this was the Penguins’ first game since a 6-4 loss to Toledo on April 6.

“That bullpen has been solid most of the year,” Gillispie said. “But I don’t know how many times this year we’ve had a lead in the fifth of sixth and lose it. We need to be able to add to that lead and let them chase us and let the back end of our bullpen put it away.”

The YSU staff scattered 11 hits over nine innings and was able to dance out of danger in the first three innings, turning double plays in each. But Joel Hake found trouble in both the sixth and seventh innings, dooming the Penguins’ cause.

Hake went 1 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits and two game-changing home runs. Dylan Rosa took Hake deep to left to tie the game and then Zarley Zalewski took him deep to right with a runner on and Kent State controlled from there.

Shane Willoughby, who went 2 for 4 for the Penguins, said the team missed out on opportunities to extend the lead and consequently put pressure on the pitching staff.

“We didn’t execute or get things done when we needed to,” Willoughby said. “It puts pressure on our pitchers when we’re not adding on offense. We’ve got to add to the lead when it’s 2-0 in the first, plain and simple.”

Trailing 5-2 in the top of the eighth, YSU looked to be threatening with no outs after Andrew Kendrick and Rohan reached base. But Willoughby grounded into a 5-4-3 double play and YSU never threatened again.

“We have to take advantage of every opportunity because we haven’t been a real explosive offensive team yet,” Gillispie said. “We just couldn’t get a guy far enough along where a ground ball would score him.

“There were some good at bats in there, just not enough of them.”

Because of the anemic offense, Gillispie used multiple hit and run plays, especially early in the game to try to jumpstart the offense. The engine just wouldn’t turn over.

“We felt we had some opportunities where we were in good running counts but until we have some guys break out and swing the bat we’re going to continue to do that to try to create,” Gillispie said.

Kent State head coach Jeff Duncan said his offensive goal is to get 13 Golden Flashes on base every game. The 13th baserunner tonight for Kent State? Zalewski as his moonshot sailed over the right field fence in the seventh inning.

The Penguins will try to move past the defeat and welcome NKU to Eastwood Field at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The weekend series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Gillispie hopes to see an improved defense as well as a timely hitting this weekend. The Penguins committed two errors Wednesday and bobbled other balls in the infield that arguably could’ve added more to the tally.

“I’d like to see us a little cleaner defensively,” Gillispie said. “We need to be a little sharper and then take advantage of those runners when we get into scoring position.”