The Youngstown State softball team came up on the short end of a pitchers' duel, falling 1-0 to Northern Kentucky in the opening round of the 2023 Horizon League Softball Championship at King Park on Wednesday.

The Penguins will now play an elimination game against IUPUI at approximately 6 p.m. Eastern.

YSU's Sophie Howell allowed just four hits, but the Penguins couldn't provide any run support for her as Northern Kentucky's Alicia Flores countered with a two-hit shutout. It was the second straight season that Howell lost 1-0 to NKU in the opening round of the conference tournament.

The Penguins were mere inches away from taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh. Avrey Schumacher led off the inning with a single, YSU's second of the contest, to put the tying run on base. Flores struck out Taylor Truran looking on a pitch up and in to bring up Hailey Roach, who provided Youngstown State's first hit in the fifth. Roach hit a long drive to straightaway centerfield, and NKU's Ella LeMonier extended her glove above the fence to take away the go-ahead homer. Flores got Elyssa Imler to fly out to end the game.

NKU's only run off Howell was in the bottom of the fourth, and it came after the Penguins' ace retired the first two batters of the inning and had two strikes on the next two hitters. Maddie Lacer fought for a nine-pitch walk, and Brielle DiMemmo lined a two-strike single to center to put runners at the corners. The lone RBI of the contest came when Megan Lenhart singled off of Howell's glove to bring in Lacer.

YSU's best chance to score came in the first inning when Sara Fessler reached on a two-base error to start the game. She was stranded there, and she represented the only time that the Penguins had a runner in scoring position. YSU had one baserunner in the first, second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings.