The Youngstown State softball team was on the short end of two walk-off games on Saturday with a pair of one-run losses at Lipscomb's Purple & Gold Challenge.
The Penguins dropped their opening game to Saint Louis 2-1 in eight innings. YSU then took a 4-0 lead against Lipscomb before the Bisons scored the final five runs and won 5-4 with an infield single in the bottom of the seventh.
Conchetta Rinaldi had hits in both games, and she hit a two-run homer against Lipscomb.
Youngstown State will play two more games at Lipscomb's Draper Diamond on Sunday at the Purple & Gold Challenge. The Penguins will take on Providence at 11 a.m. Eastern, and they'll finish up their time in Nashville with another contest against Saint Louis at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
Game One Recap
In game one Saint Louis scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two-out single by Abby Mallo to win 2-1. Mallo's game-winner came after the Penguins loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth but couldn't get a run across.
The Penguins' lone run came in the top of the third on a two-out RBI single by Conchetta Rinaldi. Megan Turner reached on an error to lead off the inning, and walks to Elyssa Imler and Sara Fessler loaded the bases with two outs. Rinaldi followed the Fessler walk with an infield single to put Youngstown State up 1-0.
YSU stayed ahead until the bottom of the sixth when Mallo hit a two-out, solo homer from her seventh spot in the lineup to tie the score at 1-1.
In the eighth, Imler was placed on second for the international tiebreaker rule, and Kennedy Dean hit the first pitch of the inning to left center to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Hailey Niederkohr grounded out first out, and Fessler followed with a walk to load the bases. Saint Louis pitcher Chloe Wendling got Rinaldi and Jillian Jakse out on consecutive fielder's choices to escape.
In the bottom half, Kendall Johnson hit a one-out single to put runners at the corners. YSU reliever Devan Ryan struck out Ashley Marietta for the second out, but Mallo singled to left center to bring in Gabbie Kowalik with the winning run.
Sophie Howell started for the Penguins in the circle and pitched four shutout innings. Devan Ryan took over in the fifth, and she allowed both runs and struck out four in 3.2 innings of work. Wendling went the distance for the Billikens and allowed one unearned run on three hits while walking four batters.
Game Two Recap
Against the Bisons, Youngstown State scored a run in the third and fourth innings and got two runs across in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead. However, Lipscomb scored four times in the bottom of the fifth and won with an infield single in the seventh.
Rinaldi and Fessler had two hits apiece for the Penguins, who had eight hits in the game.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead when Niederkohr drew a one-out walk, advanced two bases on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Imler then singled home pinch-runner Ellie Hardman with two outs in the fourth to up the YSU advantage to 2-0.
Ryan, who also appeared in relief in game two, worked out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth to keep the Bisons scoreless, and the Penguins rewarded her with two runs in the top of the fifth. Hailey Roach led off with a single, and Rinaldi hit the first pitch of her at bat over the left field fence two batters later to put the Penguins ahead 4-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Lipscomb scored four runs on just two hits as the Bisons benefitted from two walks and an error in the inning. Presley Rader followed the error with a pinch-hit double to plate the first run, but Ryan got the next out and had two down in the inning before running into trouble. She got ahead 0-2 in the count against Briyana Wright but ended up walking her to load the bases, and Presley Leebrick followed with a three-run double on an 0-1 pitch to tie the score.
The Penguins left runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings, and two infield singles led to the Bisons run in the bottom of the seventh. Elise Shewmaker led off with a single to shortstop, and Leebrick's one-out single put runners at the corners. Kamrie Rich's single back to the circle plated the winning run.
Bree Kohler started in the circle for the Penguins in game two, and she surrendered four runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits and three walks in five innings. Howell allowed two baserunners in the sixth before Ryan came on to go the rest of the way. Lipscomb reliever Emily Yakubowski earned the win as she did not allow a run in two innings.
