The Youngstown State baseball team pushed its winning streak to six with a 12-3 series-clinching victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at Mastodon Field in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The Penguins led 3-2 after four innings and exploded for six runs in the fifth to pull away for their second consecutive Horizon League series victory. YSU has put together a six-game winning streak for the first time since the 2021 season.
Youngstown State improves to 13-32 overall and 8-14 in Horizon League play while Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 10-37 overall and 6-17 in league action.
YSU starter Braden Gebhardt allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts over five innings to earn his first-career victory. The freshman left-hander retired the side in order in the first inning, and he had a strikeout in each of the first three frames. Nick Perez came out of the bullpen to toss four perfect innings of relief to earn his first save of the season. The junior right-hander retired the side in order in each of the four frames he was on the mound, and he clinched the series win with a game-ending strikeout in the ninth.
Matt Thompson went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored while Steven D'Eusanio went 3-for-6 with an RBI double and a run scored. Ian Francis went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI while Andre Good belted a two-run home run and scored twice. Braeden O'Shaughnessy added a three-run double as the Penguins outhit the Mastodons 11-4.
The Penguins took an early 1-0 edge in the top of the first inning when Padraig O'Shaughnessy drew a two-out walk, advanced to third on a single by D'Eusanio and scored on a passed ball.
The Mastodons answered in the bottom of the second inning when Caileb Johnson drew a one-out walk and Cade Fitzpatrick followed with a two-run home run to give Purdue Fort Wayne a 2-1 lead.
YSU evened the score at 2-2 with a single run on two hits in the top of the third inning. Trey Law hit a leadoff single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out RBI double by D'Eusanio.
The Penguins regained a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Thompson hit a leadoff single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI double by Francis.
Youngstown State pushed its advantage to 9-2 with six runs on four hits and an error in the top of the fifth inning. Padraig O'Shaughnessy drew a leadoff walk, D'Eusanio followed with a single and both runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Thompson delivered a one-out RBI single that plated O'Shaughnessy, and D'Eusanio scored on an error following a wild pitch. After Thompson scored on a passed ball, Good walked, Francis doubled and RJ Sherwood walked to set up a two-out three-run double to right center by Braeden O'Shaughnessy.
Purdue Fort Wayne got back on the board with a single run in the home half of the fifth to cut YSU's lead to 9-3. Jarrett Bickel drew a two-out walk and Cade Nelis followed with an RBI double to left field.
The Guins rebuilt a seven-run advantage in the top of the eighth when Turner Grau drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI double to left center by Thompson. Good followed with a two-run blast to left center to put the Penguins ahead 12-3.
Purdue Fort Wayne starter Brody Fine suffered the loss after allowing three runs, two of them earned, on five hits over 3.1 innings. The four proceeding Mastodon relievers combined to surrender nine runs over 4.2 innings.
The Penguins will go for the series sweep over the Mastodons on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available through links at YSUsports.com, and fans can follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
