Box Score Two unfortunate events went against the Youngstown State baseball team in the middle innings, and Wright State capitalized to beat the Penguins 6-3 on Saturday afternoon at Eastwood Field.
The Raiders have now taken the first two games of the series, and YSU will try to get back to even with the Raiders by winning the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. YSU seniors Blake Aquadro, Erik Okleson, Pat Shedlock and Padraic Williams will be honored prior to the contest in what will be the final Horizon League home game of their careers.
Trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth, YSU got its first hit off Wright State starter Joey Hoelzel on Neil Schroth's single. Drew Dosch then followed with a single to score Mike Accardi, who Hoelzel beaned to start the inning, and Josh White brought in Schroth with an RBI single. After Phil Lipari flew out, Nick DiNello hit a double down the left field line that appeared to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead with Dosch and White scoring. However, White was called out for missing third base, and Marcus Heath struck out to end the inning with the score tied at 3-3. The Penguins did not have a hit the rest of the game.
Wright State loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth, and YSU starter Patrick O'Brien got the ground ball he needed to get out of the inning. Lipari flipped to Schroth for the first out, but the second baseman's throw to first was high, and two Raiders runners came in to make the score 5-3.
Michael Timm's two-out single in the ninth added an insurance run for the Raiders in the top of the ninth.
YSU's only four hits in the contest came off Hoelzel in the fourth. Hoelzel struck out five batters in eight innings to improve to 4-3 on the year. Closer Travis Hissong allowed a base-runner in the ninth in earning his fifth save.
O'Brien went the distance for the Penguins, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits.
The Raiders scored twice in the first when Garrett Gray doubled in John Brodner and scored on Timm's sacrifice fly. Justin Kopale then brought in Jeff Limbaugh with a sacrifice fly in the second to put Wright State up 3-0.
