Lucas Nasonti and Braeden O'Shaughnessy both had four hits, but the Youngstown State baseball team lost 5-3 to Niagara at Eastwood Field on Wednesday evening.

Nasonti and O'Shaughnessy combined for eight of the Penguins' nine hits and all three of their runs. Niagara used seven pitchers to hold the rest of YSU's lineup to 1-for-24 at the plate. It was the first four-hit game in Nasonti's career, and O'Shaughnessy had four hits in a game for the third time in his career.

Niagara had seven hits in the game, but three of them left the ballpark. Dawson Bailey was 2-for-4 with a homer, and Vincent Mauro, the eighth hitter in the lineup, hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning that ended up accounting for the winning runs.

While Nasonti and O'Shaughnessy combined for eight of YSU's nine hits, the Penguins had several hard-hit balls that turned into outs. Austin Earl hit a hard liner up the middle with the bases loaded in the first inning that pitcher Kyle Smyth got a glove on and threw to first for an inning-ending out. In the seventh after O'Shaughnessy reached on a leadoff single, Andre Good hit a hard line drive right at the first baseman, who was two feet off the bag and stepped on the base to double up O'Shaughnessy.

YSU starter Lane Rhodes worked around three hits in a scoreless top of the first, and the Penguins gave their freshman starter a 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Nasonti posted the first of his four hits with a one-out single up the middle, and he scored two batters later on O'Shaughnessy's double to right-center.

Niagara tied the score when back-to-back walks to start the fourth inning led to an RBI single by Eli Selby, and the Purple Eagles took their first lead in the fifth on a solo homer by Bailey.

The Penguins responded quickly to reclaim the lead on O'Shaughnessy's team-leading fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth. Nasonti led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and O'Shaughnessy followed two batters later with a two-run blast to left that put YSU ahead 3-2.

YSU's lead was short-lived, however, as Niagara homered twice in the sixth to take a 5-3 advantage. After reliever Alex Cardona struck out Matt Ward to start the inning, two of the next three hitters took him deep. Josh Marchese hit a solo homer to right to tie the score, and, following a walk, Mauro homered to left to make the score 5-3.

Mauro's homer ended up being Niagara's final hit of the night, but the Penguins couldn't string enough hits together to catch the Purple Eagles. YSU left the bases loaded in the sixth, had bad luck on Good's double-play line out in the seventh, stranded a runner at second in the eighth and left two men on in the ninth.

Gavin Krawiec earned the win in relief for Niagara despite allowing the two runs on O'Shaughnessy's homer in the fifth inning. Zach Cameron, the seventh Purple Eagles pitcher, worked around a hit and a walk in the ninth to record his first save.

Cardona was charged with the loss for YSU as he allowed the three runs in the top of the sixth. Rhodes struck out six batters and surrendered five hits before giving way to Cardona with one out in the fifth.

Youngstown State will begin a three-game Horizon League series against Milwaukee on Thursday. First pitch at Eastwood Field is slated for 5 p.m.