Valparaiso starting pitcher Mario Losi tossed a four-hit shutout to lead the Crusaders to a 4-0 victory over the Youngstown State baseball team on Sunday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field.

The sophomore right-hander didn't surrender a hit until an infield single to start the fourth, and the other three hits he allowed were after the sixth inning. By that time, the Crusaders' offense had given him a 4-0 cushion.

Losi's performance overshadowed Josh North's best start of the year for the Penguins. North allowed three runs, one of which was unearned, on four hits while striking out a career-high nine batters.

Both of Valpo's earned runs came before the Crusaders recorded an out in the first. Spencer Mahoney singled to start the game and scored two batters later on Nate Palace's single. Daniel Delaney then doubled in Nolan Lodden, who walked, to make the score 2-0. North did a good job of limiting the damage with a strikeout, lineout and ground out.

Shea Molitor's sacrifice fly put Valpo up 3-0 in the sixth, and Palace singled in Mahoney in the seventh for the game's final run.

The Penguins stranded a pair of runners who reached on walks in the second, and Alex Larivee got the first hit of the game for YSU with a single to shortstop in the fourth. Youngstown State got the leadoff batter on in each of the fourth through eighth innings, but Losi got double plays in three innings.

Kevin Hix doubled to start the eighth, and he went to third on Lorenzo Arcuri's single to center. Arcuri was then doubled up on Jason Shirley's line out to short, and Frank Califano grounded out to end YSU's best threat of the day.

Youngstown State will play at Akron on Tuesday at 3 p.m.