Niles, Ohio -- The Youngstown State baseball team fell to Oakland in both games of a Horizon League doubleheader on Sunday at Eastwood Field. The Golden Grizzlies took game one 14-1 before earning a 13-3 victory in game two to pick up the series win.
Youngstown State drops to 3-19 overall and 2-4 in Horizon League play while Oakland improves to 9-14 overall and 2-4 in league action.
Game 1 Recap
Oakland scored 14 consecutive runs after falling behind 1-0 on its way to 14-1 victory in game one of Sunday's doubleheader at Eastwood Field.
The Penguins scored a single run in the top of the first inning before the Golden Grizzlies struck for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. Oakland added one run in the fifth and six in the sixth in route to the seven-inning victory.
Ian Francis went 2-for-4 with an RBI single while Brett Stanley singled and scored a run.
YSU starter Sloan Ulrich suffered the loss after allowing seven runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits with three strikeouts and four walks over 3.2 innings. Freshman right-hander Mikey Rodriques, who was one of four relievers to appear for the Penguins, made his first-career pitching appearance.
The Penguins took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Stanley hit a one-out single and scored on a two-out RBI single from Francis.
The score remained the same until the Golden Grizzlies posted seven runs on two hits and three errors in the home half of the fourth to take a 7-1 lead. Oakland added a single run in the fifth and six runs in the sixth for the final margin.
Oakland starter Sean Fekete collected the win after allowing one unearned run on four hits with five strikeouts over five innings of work. Shane McAlinden came on to toss two scoreless innings of relief.
Game 2 Recap
Oakland built an 8-1 lead and was able to hold off Youngstown State for a 13-3 victory in game two of Sunday's doubleheader at Eastwood Field.
 The Penguins jumped ahead 1-0 for the second straight game before the Golden Grizzlies scored the next eight runs of the contest to build an 8-1 advantage. YSU scored twice in the fifth before Oakland scored four times in the sixth and once in the seventh for the seven-inning win.
Trey Law went 2-for-4 and scored twice from the leadoff spot for the Penguins while Stanley and Matt Thompson added two hits apiece. Alejandro Covas also notched an RBI single for Youngstown State.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos was tagged with the loss after surrendering two runs on two hits with a pair of punch outs in his lone inning on the mound. The junior right-hander made his first appearance in over a year after suffering a season-ending injury in the early portion of the 2023 season.
The Penguins took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Law reached on a dropped third strike and came around to score when Covas grounded into a double play.
The Golden Grizzlies answered quickly with two runs on two hits in bottom of the first to take 2-1 edge. Oakland went on to plate three runs in both the third and fourth innings to push its lead to 8-1.
Youngstown State got back on the board with two runs on two hits in the top of the fifth. Eli Brown drew a one-out walk, advanced to third on a double by Law and scored on an RBI groundout from Stanley. Covas followed with an RBI single to score Law and cut Oakland's lead to 8-3.
Oakland responded with four runs on two hits in the home half of the sixth to extend its lead to 12-3, and it recorded a single run in the seventh to produce the final score.
Oakland starter Brandon Decker was awarded the victory after allowing three runs on six hits and fanning five batters over five innings. Brody Krzysiak allowed three hits over two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Youngstown State will return to action on Tuesday with a non-conference contest at Toledo. First Pitch at Scott Park is currently scheduled for 3 p.m.
