The Youngstown State baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Oakland on a chilly Friday at Eastwood Field. The Penguins fell 13-10 in game one and 5-2 in game two.
Oakland bounced back after losing the series opener 18-3 on Thursday night to win the series. The Golden Grizzlies are 7-10 overall and 2-1 in Horizon League play, and Youngstown State is 4-15 and 1-2.
Braeden O'Shaughnessy had two hits in both games and doubled three times on the afternoon to lead the Penguins offensively. Matt Thompson, Andre Good and Eli Brown each had two hits in the opener, and Padraig O'Shaughnessy homered in game one.
Game 1 Recap
Oakland scored 11 runs over the final three innings to pull away for a 13-10 victory over the Youngstown State baseball team in game one of Friday's Horizon League doubleheader at Eastwood Field.
The Penguins led 3-2 after the sixth inning before the Golden Grizzlies plated three runs in the seventh, two runs in the eighth and six runs in the ninth. YSU scored three runs in the eighth and four in the ninth to make things interesting, but Oakland hung on to even the series at a game apiece.
Andre Good went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and three RBIs while Eli Brown was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Braeden O'Shaughnessy went 2-for-5 with a double, Matt Thompson was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and Padraig O'Shaughnessy went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run, three walks and three runs scored.
YSU starter Nick Perez allowed two runs, one of them earned, on six hits with four strikeouts over 5.1 innings in a no-decision. Kenny Misik suffered the loss after allowing two runs on one hit and three walks over two thirds of an inning as one of five Penguin pitchers in the contest.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Trey Law hit a one-out single and scored on a two-out RBI double by Turner Grau.
The Golden Grizzlies evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth when Peter Jelenic hit a one-out single and scored on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Reagan Paulina. Oakland grabbed a 2-1 lead later in the frame when Paulina raced home on a failed pickoff attempt at second base.
YSU regained a 3-2 advantage with two runs on a pair of two-out hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Padraig O'Shaughnessy drew a two-out walk and Matt Thompson followed with an infield single to set up a two-run double to left center by Andre Good.
Oakland went back in front with three runs on three hits in the top of the seventh inning. Thomas Green hit a two-run single before Jelenic delivered a two-out RBI double to give the Golden Grizzlies a 5-3 edge.
The Golden Grizzlies built a 7-3 lead with two more runs in the top of the eighth on a two-out, two-run single by Thomas Green.
The Penguins cut the deficit to 7-5 in the bottom of the eighth when Padraig O'Shaughnessy hit a two-run home run over the wall in right field. Later in the inning, Eli Brown came through with a two-out RBI single to shave Oakland's lead to 7-6.
Oakland scored six runs on three hits in the top of the ninth inning to go ahead 13-6.
Youngstown State went on to score four runs in the bottom of the ninth and proceeded to bring the potential-tying run to the plate. Grau drew a one-out walk and came around to score on a wild pitch before Good drew a bases-loaded walk. Brown hit a two-out, two-run double to right center to produce the final runs of the contest.
Oakland starter Hunter Pidek was responsible for one run on three hits over five innings in a no-decision. Brandon Decker was awarded the victory after allowing five runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of relief.
Green went 4-for-6 with four RBIs to lead the Golden Grizzlies offensively.
Game 2 Recap
In the nightcap, Oakland's Travis Densmore pitched a gem to lead the Golden Grizzlies to a doubleheader sweep. The senior left-hander came into the game with a 12.06 ERA, but he held the Penguins to two runs on five hits while striking out nine in 7.1 innings. He threw 120 pitches and left with a 5-0 lead with one out in the eighth.
The Golden Grizzlies jumped in front 1-0 when Drew Collins hit the second pitch of the game over the right-field wall for a solo home run. The score remained that way until Oakland plated a pair of unearned runs in the fourth.
After Aidan English got an out on the first pitch of the inning, Brandon Heidal reached on a throwing error and Reggie Bussey followed with a single up the middle to put runners at the corners. That tandem then executed a double steal to plate a run, and the Golden Grizzlies scored their third run when Collins scored on another infield error with two outs.
In the bottom of the fifth, Padraig O'Shaughnessy reached on an error to start the inning, and Clay Wiesen delivered YSU's first hit on a bloop single to right. Jack Johnson's bunt single loaded the bases with one out, but Densmore responded to get his biggest outs of the game when he got Eli Brown to foul out and struck out Law to end the inning.
Braeden O'Shaughnessy led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to deep center, but he was thrown out trying to take third on a ball in the dirt. Densmore struck out the next two hitters to get out of the inning, and the Golden Grizzlies added another unearned run in the top of the seventh to go up 4-0.
Oakland added an insurance run in the top of the eighth when Gabe Lux plated Heidal on a two-out double to left.
The Penguins finally got to Densmore in the eighth as two runs went on his record after he handed the ball to the bullpen. Law hit a one-out single, and Braeden O'Shaughnessy followed with a double to right. That was Densmore's final batter, and Steven D'Eusanio brought in both runners with a two-out, two-run single off of reliever Noah Stants.
English allowed one earned run and three runs total in five innings of work before handing the ball off to Braden Gebhardt. English allowed six hits and five walks while striking out four. Gebhardt allowed two runs on four hits while striking out a career-high six batters in four innings of relief.
The Penguins will return to action on Wednesday for a midweek contest at Bowling Green at 3 p.m.
