Box Score Alex Larivee and Shane Willoughby both had two-run doubles, and the Youngstown State baseball team beat Wright State 6-5 on Friday evening at Nischwitz Stadium.
Larivee had a pair of hits, and his two-run double down the left-field line in the top of the eighth inning gave the Penguins a 6-2 lead on the Raiders. That proved to be two crucial runs as Mark Fowler hit a three-run homer in the ninth for Wright State.
YSU's Jared Wight held the Raiders to one run on six hits and two walks over five innings to earn the victory in his first conference start of the season. Austin Lujano allowed a run in two innings, and Anthony Konders came on for the final out to record his third save.
Wright State had five hits in the first two innings but scored just once as two of its runners got picked off. The run came with two outs in the second when Jason DeFevers singled in Ryan Fucci.
Youngstown State posted five of its eight hits in the game in the fourth when it scored four times with two outs to go ahead 4-1. Frank Califano led off with a single, and he went to second on a ground out. Josh Fitch brought him in to tie the score on a single to right, and Alex Core followed with an infield single to keep the inning going. Lorenzo Arcuri doubled in Fitch to put the Penguins ahead, and Willoughby doubled to deep left center to plate Core and Arcuri.
Sean Murphy hit a solo homer in the sixth to make the score 4-2, and Larivee's double in the eighth plated Jonny Miller and Califano.
Wright State stranded two runners in the eighth, and the first two batters in the ninth singled off Ryan Krokos. The Penguins reliever got a strikeout and a flyout, but Fowler's homer to left got Wright State within a run. Konders came on to strike out Michael Timm to preserve the victory.
Wright State starter Jesse Scholtens allowed four runs on six hits over seven innings in the loss, and all six outs recorded by the Raiders' bullpen came on strikeouts.
Youngstown State and Wright State will play game two of the three-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m.
