Niles -- The Youngstown State baseball team gave 10 pitchers some work against Akron on Wednesday afternoon at Eastwood Field. Half finished the contest with scoreless performances while five more surrendered 11 runs as the Penguins dropped an 11-5 contest to the Zips.

YSU's first three hurlers -- Corey Vukovic, Cody Dearth and Alex Frey -- struck out three and allowed just one hit in the first three innings of the contest.

The early offense for the Guins was provided by outfielder Tom Clayton who belted his second home run of the season off UA starter Zach Yike in the second inning. After falling behind 1-0, the Zips scored 11 of the game's next 12 runs.

Clayton's homer gave the Penguins a lead until the fourth inning. Jimmy Kinnick came on in relief and hit Jake Plata with a pitch before Kyle Hallett doubled just inside the right field line. After Brian Kordal flied out to short left field, Brandon White singled to center scoring Plata and Hallett. Kinnick retired Sam Trecaso before walking the next two hitters. Anthony Munoz came on in relief and was greeted by a two-run Kevin Haas single to put the Zips in front 4-1.

Akron added one run in the sixth, two in the seventh, one in the eighth and three in the ninth. The Penguins picked up a run in the seventh when Armani Johnson scored on Derek Carr's sacrifice fly.

YSU scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth as Johnson singled home Jeremy Banks, Carr's second sacrifice fly of the game plated Jonathan Crist and Neal Schroth reached on a fielding error that scored Johnson.

With the loss, the Guins fall back to .500 at 15-15 overall while Akron improves to 15-16 on the year. Kinnick (0-2) was saddled with the loss while Bobby Simone (1-0) earned the victory.

YSU returns to action this weekend when it plays host to a three-game series against LeMoyne. The series features a doubleheader that starts on Saturday at noon followed by a single game on Sunday. All three are set to be played at Eastwood Field.

The Penguins and Zips are set for a rematch on April 28 in Akron.