Box Score Niles, Ohio -- Youngstown
State scored in each of the first seven innings and posted
season-high totals in hits and runs to beat Buffalo 17-10 in the
Penguins' regular season finale on Wednesday at Eastwood Field.
Every YSU starter had at least one hit, eight
scored and registered an RBI. Jacke Healey hit his team-high eighth
homer and drove in four runs, and Jeremy Banks added four RBIs.
The Penguins and Bulls combined for 24 runs
and 26 hits through the first five innings, which took more than
two hours to complete. That's when weekend starter Phil Klein came
in completely changed the tone of the contest for YSU. In a game
where he was just supposed to get some work in during the week-long
break leading up to the Horizon League Baseball Championship, Klein
cruised through 3.2 innings to pick up his fifth win. He allowed
one hit, walked two and struck out four as the final four innings
lasted less than 50 minutes.
Buffalo had just one hit after the fifth to
finish with 14, and YSU posted 19 hits, seven of which went for
extra bases.
Each team scored in each of the first five
innings, but YSU led 14-10 heading into the sixth thanks to a
seven-run fourth. The Penguins had just four hits in the
fourth as Buffalo issued four walks and had an error. After
the first two batters of the inning were retired, YSU ended up
sending nine more men to the plate. John Koehnlein's double tied
the score at 5-5, and Banks walked with the bases loaded to give
YSU the lead for good.
Buffalo scored five runs in the top of the
fifth on four hits, the last of which was a grand slam, to get
within 11-10. YSU answered three runs on a two-run double by Banks
and an RBI single by Anthony Porter in the bottom half, and
Healey's two-run double in the sixth put YSU ahead 16-10.
Porter added a homer in the seventh, and
Anthony Munoz pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Koehnlein, YSU's lone senior, finished with
three hits and three runs scored in his final game at Eastwood
Field. Koehnlein has upped his batting average to .385, and he's
had at least two hits in seven consecutive games. He is batting
.528 over the last 14 games, and the Penguins are hitting .323 as a
team over that span.
David Leon added a game-high and career-high
four hits and three runs scored.
Chaz Mye was charged with the loss for
Buffalo after allowing all seven runs in the fourth, although only
two were earned.
The Penguins end the regular season 16-34,
and they will have to wait to see who and when they will play in
next week's Horizon League Baseball Championship.
If Cleveland State is swept at Wright State
on Friday and Saturday, YSU will finish as the No. 5 seed and play
Wednesday at 11 a.m. If the Vikings win at least once, YSU will
play Butler on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The tournament will be at The Pipe
Yard in Lorain, Ohio.