The Youngstown State baseball team battled but came up short in a 9-6 loss at Kansas State on Saturday at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.
The Wildcats scored four of the final five runs of the game to break a 5-5 tie and pull away for their second straight win in the three-game weekend series.
Youngstown State falls to 3-12 overall while Kansas State improves to 10-5.
Eli Brown had a career-high three hits as he went 3-for-4 with an RBI single to lead YSU offensively. Turner Grau and Andre Good each had two hits while Eddie Saucedo went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. The Penguins outhit the Wildcats 12-7 for the contest.
YSU starter Nick Perez allowed five runs on three hits and five walks with four strikeouts over four innings in a no-decision. Trey Pancake suffered the loss after allowing four runs, three of them earned, on four hits over 2.2 innings of relief. Kenny Misik, Brandin Anderson and Patrick Gumto combined to toss 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Kansas State plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to grab an early lead. Brendan Jones drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on an RBI triple to right center by Cash Rugely. After a groundout, Rugely scored on a wild pitch to give KSU a 2-0 edge.
Youngstown State took its first lead of the contest with four runs on six hits in the top of the fourth inning. Steven D'Eusanio hit a leadoff double and Padraig O'Shaughnessy followed with an RBI double to right center for the first run of the frame. Matt Thompson brought home O'Shaughnessy with an RBI single up the middle and advanced to third on base hit by Good. After an RBI groundout by Saucedo put YSU in front, Brown delivered an RBI single to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead.
The Wildcats responded by scoring three runs on two hits in the home half of the fourth. Cole Johnson hit a leadoff single, stole second and scored on a sacrifice fly by Roberto Pena before a two-out, two-run home run by Jones gave K-State a 5-4 advantage.
The Penguins evened the score at 5-5 with a single run in the top of the fifth inning. Thompson drew a two-out walk, advanced to second on a single by Good and scored on an RBI single from Saucedo.
Kansas State regained the lead with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth inning. Brady Day hit a leadoff single and came around to score on a wild pitch before a two-out, two-run double by Orlando Salinas gave the Wildcats an 8-5 lead. KSU added a single run in the home half of the seventh when Kyan Lodice drew a one-out walk and scored when Rugely reached on a two-out error.
YSU trimmed KSU's lead to 9-6 in the top of the eighth inning when Trey Law reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to third on an infield single by Grau and scored on a wild pitch.
Kansas State starter Jackson Wentworth was responsible for four runs on six hits over 3.1 innings in no-decision. Shay Hartis was awarded the victory after allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief. Tyson Neighbors surrendered one run on two hits with three strikeouts over two innings to earn the save.
The Penguins and Wildcats will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
