Box Score The Youngstown State baseball team nearly completed a major
comeback but ultimately dropped a 14-12 slugfest at Wright State on
Friday evening at Nischwitz Stadium.
Jake Fryman, David Saluga and Matt Sullivan all homered for the
Penguins, who scored seven runs in the eighth inning and had the
tying run at the plate three times. Nine different YSU players had
hits, and six Penguins had two hits.
Sean Murphy drove in four runs and was one of three Raiders with
three hits.
Alex Larivee singled in Phil Lipari with one out in the first
inning to give the Penguins an early lead, but Wright State scored
three runs off YSU starter Ryan Krokos in the bottom of the inning.
Sullivan doubled to start the second, and Saluga followed with a
two-run homer to lock the game at 3-3. The Raiders plated three
runs in the third to go ahead 6-3, and they led the rest of the
game. John Brodner's two-run homer made the score 8-3 in the
fifth, and a three-run sixth put the Raiders up 11-3.
Fryman's homered with Jason Shirley aboard in the seventh
to make the score 11-5, and Wright State plate three more runs in
the bottom of the seventh to take what seemed to be a comfortable
14-5 lead.
The Penguins did all of their scoring in the eighth with two
outs, and Lipari's RBI single brought in Kevin Hix to start
the two-out rally. Shirley walked to load the bases, and Fryman
followed with a two-run single to make the score 14-8. Kurt Laver
then brought in Shirley with a single, and Sullivan's
three-run homer quickly got the Penguins within two runs. Reliever
Cody Simon came on and walked Saluga on four pitches, and Andrew
Elliott walked Hix before striking out Ross. Elliott also struck
out three batters in the ninth around a two-out single by
Shirley.
Both teams used five pitchers in the game that lasted 3:41, and
both starters factored in the decision. Joey Hoelzel was charged
with three runs on six hits and three walks in six innings, and
Ryan Krokos allowed five earned runs in 2.2 innings. Elliott earned
his 12th save for the Raiders.
The Penguins and Raiders will play game two of their three-game
series on Saturday at 5 p.m.
