YSU 'steals' victory over Toledo

By BOB ETTINGER

sports@vindy.com

NILES

Lucas Nasonti has always been one to make things happen rather than wait for them to come to him.

He managed find the sweet spot between the two in leading the Youngstown State baseball team past Toledo, 5-3, at Eastwood Field on Wednesday evening.

“I try to play hard all the time and make the best of the opportunities I get,” said Nasonti, a Champion High School graduate. “Tonight, it was that much more fun. The team, in general, always plays as hard as it can. Winning helps. The last couple of games, we’ve been playing really good baseball. Everyone can’t wait to get to the field.”

The Penguins (8-25) stole nine bases to tie a team record set against the College of Steubenville – now Franciscan University of Steubenville – on May 2, 1970.

The top three hitters in the order – Cameron Murray, Nasonti and Phillip Glasser – were responsible for seven of those thefts with Nasonti swiping three bases and Murray and Glasser two each. Blaze Glenn and Travis Perry also had a steal apiece.

“We really work on that,” YSU coach Dan Bertolini said. “That’s a point of emphasis in practice. Even when we’re not stealing bases, we’re getting good leads and good jumps. That puts pressure on the defense. We watch a lot of video and put in a lot of work. That’s how we steal bases. It’s an important part of our offense.”

Those top three hitters for YSU scored all five runs and were on base a total of eight times. Nasonti and Glasser each had two hits, walked once and scored twice.

“We were really just trying to find a pitch in one area,” Nasonti said. “We were trying to not expand the area. It wasn’t only the hits, but the walks helped do some damage. A lot of [the steals] was scouting. We came in with a game plan and tried to take advantage.”

Murray walked twice and scored a run.

“They were very disciplined at the plate,” Bertolini said. “They didn’t chase pitches and had some great at-bats. When they got on, they were able to take the extra base. Though we only had eight hits, we were able to score five runs. They were able to move up 90 feet, sometimes 180 feet when they stole second and third. That was a big part of the game for us. Blaze was big for us after they moved up.”

Glenn had three singles and drove in a pair of runs.

Gary Clift Jr. started and got the win, though he worked just the first inning as part of a plan in making a comeback from a number of injuries that have kept him sidelined the last couple of seasons. He struck out two and didn’t allow a hit. Brandon Matthews worked four scoreless and struck out two. Zach Lopatka pitched the final 31⁄3 innings for the save. He fanned three.

“They did a great job,” Bertolini said. “That was big for [Clift]. I’m really happy for him. He’s dealt with a lot of injuries. Matthews came in and did a great job. He was throwing hard. Lopatka did a great job.”