The Youngstown State baseball team split a Horizon League doubleheader at Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon with a pair of lopsided decisions. The Penguins won the seven-inning opener 11-2 behind a 13-hit effort, but Milwaukee's offense ignited early in game two as the Panthers won 17-4.

Youngstown State is now 15-25 overall and 8-8 in Horizon League play, and Milwaukee is 14-20 overall and 4-10 against conference opponents.

Game One Recap

In game one, the Penguins were opportunistic on offense while starting pitcher Chad Coles was solid throughout in an 11-2 seven-inning victory at Franklin Field.

The Panthers committed four costly errors in the game and YSU banged out 13 hits in the contest as four Guins had multi-hit games. Coles pitched six solid innings, striking out five and scattering five hits to improve to 3-2 on the season. Braeden O'Shaughnessy banged out a career-high-tying four hits – all singles – while the 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup went 8-for-12 and scored six runs.

YSU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard jumping on Milwaukee starting pitcher Logan Schufler.

The first two Penguins walked to open the game and both came around to score when O'Shaughnessy singled to right and the throw back in the infield bounced into the stands. O'Shaughnessy came home from second base when Steven D'Esuanio singled to left as the offense gave Coles a 3-0 lead before he stepped on the mound.

In the bottom of the second, Milwaukee cut the deficit to 3-1 as Mitchell Buban singled home Zach Thelen with two outs.

The Guins plated three more runs in the third inning to push the lead out to 6-1. YSU used some great hustle to score its first two runs of the inning. Lucero walked and O'Shaughnessy singled to open the inning. D'Eusanio singled to first base, but the errant throw allowed both Seth Lucero and O'Shaughnessy to come around to score. With the bases loaded, Chase Franken hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored D'Eusanio.

Mark Connelly doubled and came home on a wild pitch for the Panthers in the third inning making it a 6-2 contest.

In the fourth, good fortune struck again for the Guins as they added three more runs to lead by seven. With one out, Lucero and O'Shaughnessy reached again and with two outs, Dominick Bucko belted a drive to deep left field that bounced out of the glove of the Panthers' left fielder Luke Seidel and hopped over the fence. It was initially called a three-run home run before being changed to a four-base error.

YSU manufactured runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Franken walked, moved to second on a ground out, stole third and came home on an RBI-single by Lucero in the fifth. In the sixth, Dylan Swarmer doubled with two outs, moved to third on a balk and came home on a wild pitch.

Game Two Recap

After taking game one by nine runs and extending its winning streak to four games, the Penguins got down big early in game two to Milwaukee and lost 17-4.

Bucko was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI before being lifted for a pinch-runner, and D'Eusanio homered and scored three times in game two. Seidel and Connelly both had three hits for Milwaukee, which banged out 15 his and benefitted from six Youngstown State errors.

The first three Panthers of the game reached and scored off YSU starter Lane Rhodes as Seidel had a bunt single, Connelly was hit by a pitch and Justin Hausser hit a two-run double. Back-to-back ground outs allowed Hausser to score, which gave Milwaukee a 3-0 lead.

The Penguins shaved a run off the deficit in the top of the second when D'Eusanio reached on a one-out error and scored one batter later on Bucko's double.

Milwaukee blew the game open with five unearned runs in the third inning, four of which came on a grand slam by Seidel, to take an 8-1 lead. YSU got another unearned run in the top of the fourth to make it 8-2, but the Panthers had another five-run inning in the bottom half to extend their lead to 13-2.

The Panthers' lead grew to 16-2 after a two-run home run by Mitchell Buban in the bottom of the fifth, and D'Eusanio's fifth home run of the season came on the first pitch of the top of the sixth. Ian Francis, who pinch-ran for Bucko, scored on Franken's sacrifice fly later in the inning to make the score 16-4, and Milwaukee's final run came on a pinch-hit, solo home run by Jacob Kaiser in the seventh.

Rhodes was charged with eight runs, only three of which were earned, on eight hits in 2.2 innings in the loss. Alex Cardona, Brandon Mikos, Nick Perez and Will Shaffer also pitched in the contest. Milwaukee starter Eliot Turnquist allowed four runs, two of which were earned, on six hits and four walks in 5.2 innings to earn his first victory of the season.

Youngstown State will play a midweek game at Niagara on Tuesday before traveling to Dayton, Ohio, for a three-game series at Horizon League-leading Wright State over the weekend. First pitch against the Purple Eagles on Tuesday is set for 3 p.m.