Avon, Ohio -- Jeremy Banks hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning to lift the Youngstown State baseball team to a 10-8 victory over Cleveland State on Friday at All Pro Freight Stadium.

Eric Marzec was outstanding in relief, allowing just one hit and an unearned run while striking out seven batters in four innings. Marzec also had two hits and drove in three runs as the Penguins opened the three-game series with their first extra-inning victory of the season.

"We've been talking all year about finding a way to win, and we found a way to win today," head coach Rich Pasquale said. "We blew four leads and stranded a lot of guys, but we just kept staying positive. Hopefully this will kick-start us for the rest of the weekend."

In a game that featured the top two home-run hitting clubs in the Horizon League, Banks' round-tripper was the fifth hit in the contest.

The first four runs of the game all came on home runs in the first two innings. Tom Carter hit a solo homer in the first for Cleveland State, and Marzec's two-run homer in the second gave the Penguins their first of five leads in the contest. Bob Suitca led off the bottom of the second with his ninth homer of the season to tie the score.

The Penguins got two runs in the fifth to go up 4-2 on back-to-back RBI singles from Jacke Healey and Tom Clayton. Derek Carr drew a two-out walk, and he scored from first when Healey singled on a hit-and-run. Clayton then singled in front of a diving Chuck Gasti in right to bring in Healey.

Cleveland State scored twice on sacrifice flies in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score on Aaron Swenson. Tyler Wynn and Gasti led off with hits to put runners at the corners, and Suitca flew out to right to plate Wynn. Gasti then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Josh Lowe's fly out to center.

The Penguins plated three runs in the top of the seventh, but an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded kept them from blowing the game open. C.J. Morris doubled, Derek Carr singled and Healey walked to loaded the bases with nobody out. Reliever Jimmy Cowhy came in to bean Clayton and walk Joe Iacobucci to force two runs in, and Marzec brought in Healey on a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Padraic Williams bounced into twin-killer to keep the margin at three runs.

The Vikings struck right back in their half of the seventh with three runs to tie the contest at 7-7. Jason Haditsch led off with a double to force Swenson from the contest, and Carter reached on an infield single with one out. Haditsch scored on a fielder's choice, and Wynn hit a two-run homer with two outs off Kevin McCulloh.

Both teams got unearned runs in the eighth. The Penguins had runners on second and third with nobody out after a walk and an error, but Healey's sacrifice fly with one out produced YSU's only run. Suitca walked to lead off CSU's eighth, and pinch-runner Vince Marquard went to third when Marzec threw wildly to first on a pickoff attempt. Lowe's second sacrifice fly of the game brought in Marquard as CSU tied the game for the fourth time.

Marzec worked around a one-out double in the ninth, the only hit he allowed, and he retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced. Five of those outs came on strikeouts.

Iacobucci's third hit of the game with one out in the 11th set the table for Banks' two-run, opposite field home run with two outs.

Marzec hit the first batter in the bottom half, but he fanned the next two and got No. 3 batter Kyle Shaffer to fly out to preserve the win.

Swenson allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out five in six innings of work in a no-decision. Cleveland State starter Pat Shedlock kept the Vikings in the game despite allowing seven runs on eight hits and five walks over six innings. Travis Miller pitched the final four innings and was charged with the loss.

The Penguins and Vikings are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m.