YSU roundup

BASEBALL

Walk off homer downs Bowling Green

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Kyle Benyo hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Youngstown State baseball team a dramatic 6-5 win over Bowling Green at Eastwood Field.

With the Penguins down 5-4 heading into their final at bat, Evan Cheng led off the bottom of the ninth with a high-chopping infield single up the middle. Two batters later, Benyo hit the first pitch of his at bat over the wall in left center to give YSU its first walk-off victory of the season.

It was the Penguins’ first win on a walk-off home run since Eric Marzec beat UIC with a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning on April 11, 2008.

Benyo, a sophomore outfielder from Austintown, also had a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning that gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. YSU added a run on an error in the fifth to go up 3-0.

Bowling Green scored all five of its runs off the YSU bullpen, starting with two runs on a pair of infield singles in the top of the sixth that cut the margin to 3-2. Trey Bridis led off the bottom of the sixth with his fourth home run of the season to put the Penguins up by two.

The Falcons took the lead in the eighth as Greg Basalyga hit a solo homer, Derek Drewes hit an RBI single and Nick Glanzman beat out a double play ball for an RBI fielder’s choice.

Before Cheng’s infield single to start the bottom of the ninth, Bowling Green had retired nine straight YSU batters after allowing the home run to Bridis back in the sixth. Web Charles came in to pinch run for Cheng, but he only needed to trot around the bases on Benyo’s seventh blast of the season.

Youngstown State starter Jesse Slinger left with a three-run lead after holding the Falcons scoreless on three hits over five innings of work. Joe King got the final five outs on the mound for the Penguins to earn his second win in relief of the season.

YSU will host a Horizon League doubleheader Friday against UIC at noon.

SOFTBALL

Penguins sweep Wright State

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Senior Brittney Moffatt went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs to lead the Youngstown State softball team to 7-4 victory and a season series sweep over Wright State at the YSU Softball Field.

With the win the Penguins improve to 20-24 overall and 8-7 in the Horizon League while the Raiders fall to 14-24 overall and 9-6 in the league.

Moffatt tied the game in the bottom of the first with a single to center field, and gave the Penguins the lead with a two-run single to right field. Senior Maria Lacatena followed with a single to left to extend the Penguins lead to 4-1 after two innings.

Freshman Maddi Lusk, who picked up her first career save, drilled a two-out double down the left-field line that scored senior Sarah Dowd from first and pushed the Penguins lead to 5-1 through four innings.

After Wright State cut the lead to 5-3 with two runs in the top of the fifth, senior Alexandria Gibson led off the frame with a solo home run to left field and Moffatt bases-loaded ground out plated pinch-runner Alexa Schmidt to take a 7-3 lead.

Wright State added a run in the top of sixth inning.

Sophomore Paige Geanangel was solid in the circle going six innings and scattering seven hits to pick up her fourth victory. Lusk came on in the seventh to get the save.

Youngstown State plays Green Bay in a three-game series,Saturday and Sunday, in Green Bay, Wis. First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader is at 2 p.m.

Staff reports