The Youngstown State baseball team came up short by a final score of 7-6 in a back-and-forth battle with Nicholls on Friday afternoon at Ray E. Didier Field.

The Penguins and Colonels traded blows throughout the afternoon as the lead changed hands on four different occasions. YSU jumped out an early advantage with two runs in the top of the third before Nicholls answered with five runs in the home half of the inning. The Penguins plated four runs in the top of the sixth to grab a 6-5 lead, but the Colonels responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth to secure the 7-6 victory.

Youngstown State outhit Nicholls 10-9, and the Colonels were able to overcome five errors on defense. Turner Grau led YSU with a career-high three hits and a run scored as five different Penguins recorded at least one hit. Jeff Wehler and Phillip Glasser each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. In addition, Dominick Bucko, Dylan Swarmer, Steven D'Eusanio and Blaze Glenn each notched an RBI. The Penguins matched their season high with six runs while setting new high-water marks with 10 hits and four stolen bases.

Youngstown State's bullpen provided the Penguins with late-inning opportunities as four relievers combined to limit Nicholls to two runs over its final five plate appearances. Matt Brosky allowed two runs on four hits and fanned four batters over 2.1 innings in a losing effort. Chad Coles, Kenny Misik and Joel Hake combined to hold the Colonels scoreless on two hits over the final 2.2 innings. YSU starter Nick Perez, who retired the first six batters he faced, surrendered five runs on three hits while striking out two batters over three innings in his first career start.

Eight different Colonels collected hits in the game as Greg Anderberg recorded a team-high two hits and a run scored in four at bats. Basiel Williams hit a three-run home run and Wes Toups drove in a pair of runs.

The Penguins missed a big scoring opportunity in the top of the first inning. Wehler, who was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, swiped second base before being caught trying to steal third. After Padraig O'Shaughnessy hit a two-out single, D'Eusanio followed with a base hit to put runners at the corners. However, Glenn fouled out to first base in the next at bat to end the threat. YSU went on to leave a total of 11 runners on the base in the contest.

Wehler began the top of the third inning with a single to shortstop before stealing second and reaching third on a failed pickoff attempt. Glasser then drew a four-pitch walk and proceeded to steal second base to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Padraig O'Shaughnessy followed with a walk of his own to load the bases. After Nicholls starter Chase Gearing got D'Eusanio to fly out and Glenn to foul out, he hit Bucko and Swarmer with back-to-back pitches to push across a pair of runs and give YSU a 2-0 lead.

Nicholls responded by scoring five times on three hits in the home half of the third inning to grab a 5-2 advantage. Parker Coddou reached on a fielder's choice and came around to score on an RBI single by Toups. Dane Simon drove in the Colonels' second run with a sacrifice fly before Williams hit a three-run home run to right field.

The Penguins would regain the lead by scoring four times in the top of the sixth inning. Grau hit a one-out single to begin the rally, and he advanced to third on an error after Lucas Nasonti reached with a single to shortstop. Wehler and Glasser followed with back-to-back RBI singles that plated Grau and Nasonti, respectively. After Glasser stole second and Padraig O'Shaughnessy walked to load the bases, D'Eusanio and Glenn reached on two straight errors that allowed a pair of runs to score and put YSU ahead 6-5.

The lead would change hands for the final time in the home half of the sixth as the Colonels scored twice on three hits. Anderberg, Alec Paz and Coddou hit three consecutive one-out singles to load the bases before Mason Turner and Toups drew back-to-back walks to put Nicholls back in front 7-6.

Gearing allowed two runs on five hits over five innings in a no-decision while Trever Kilcrease was responsible for four runs over a third of inning. Devin Desandro earned the victory after allowing only one hit over 2.2 scoreless innings of relief while Joe Taylor picked up the save by working a perfect ninth inning.

The Penguins will look to bounce back against No. 11 LSU on Friday night at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on YSNLive.com and SEC Network+.