Niles, Ohio -- Wright State took the lead in the ninth inning in both games of Sunday's Horizon League doubleheader and swept the Youngstown State baseball team 11-7 and 10-7 on Senior Day at Eastwood Field.
The Penguins didn't trail in game one until the Raiders scored five runs in the top of the ninth, and Wright State scored three runs in the ninth inning of game two after YSU battled back to tie the contest at 7-7. Youngstown State presented diplomas to its spring graduates prior to first pitch, and the six members of its 2024 senior class were honored during a special ceremony between games.
Game 1
YSU did not trail in game one until the ninth when Wright State scored five runs off of closer Chris Domke. The Penguins led 4-0 after the first inning, and they held leads of 5-4 after the second and 7-4 after the fifth. Wright State had single tallies in the sixth and eighth innings, and it scored five times in the ninth.
Alejandro Covas finished 3-for-5 and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, and four Penguins had two hits as Youngstown State held a 13-12 edge in the hits column.
Youngstown State had two bad-hop singles and three extra-base hits in the bottom of the first inning as it jumped out to a four-run lead on Raiders starter Garret Simpson. Covas hit an RBI triple to plate Brett Stanley for the game's first run, and Covas scored on a bad-hop single off the bat of Ian Francis. After Simpson recorded the second out, Teddy Ruffner and Eli Brown hit back-to-back RBI doubles to bring in the third and fourth runs of the inning.
Wright State answered with four runs in the second, three of which came on a two-out homer by Julian Greenwell, to tie the game. The Penguins reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the second as Stanley singled, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Covas.
Youngstown State's lead then grew to 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning when consecutive singles by Francis, Matt Thompson and Ruffner led to two runs. Francis scored on a fielder's choice, and Thompson scored on a throwing error.
Wright State shaved a run off the deficit when Andrew Patrick homered in the sixth, and it tied the score at 7-7 when Vore doubled and scored on a two-out passed ball in the eighth.
In the ninth, a pinch-hit single by Drew Baker and a walk to Carson Clark started the inning, and a sacrifice bunt followed to put the go-ahead runner in scoring position. Pinch-runner Dane Thomas scored the tying run on a single by Sammy Sass, and Jay Luikart singled in Clark to put the Raiders up 8-7. Ben Vore then lined his 19th home run of the season into the left-field bullpen to increase the margin to 11-7.
YSU's game one starter Brandon Mikos pitched the first four innings and allowed four runs on five hits in a no-decision. Braden Gebhardt pitched the next four innings and surrendered one earned run and struck out five batters, and five runs and the loss were charged to Domke.
Simpson was charged with six runs on nine hits for Wright State, and Griffen Paige and Cam Allen held the Penguins to one unearned run over 4.2 innings out of the bullpen. Paige allowed the run on one hit while pitching four innings, and Allen came on to record the final two outs in the ninth.
Game 2
The Penguins led early again in the nightcap, but Wright State scored six straight runs in the third through fifth innings to take a 7-2 lead. Youngstown State rallied to tie the score with two runs in the fifth and three in the seventh before the Raiders scored three times in the ninth.
Trey Law went 2-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored while Brown had two singles and drove in two runs. Chase Franken hit his third home run of the season and Thompson recorded a game-high three RBIs.
YSU starter Sloan Ulrich surrendered five runs on six hits with three strikeouts over 3.1 innings while Nick Perez was responsible for one run. Aidan English took the loss after permitting three runs on two hits with four strikeouts over a season-high four innings of relief. The sophomore right-hander retired 10 straight batters at one point as he sat down the Raiders in order in three different frames.
Law led off the bottom of the first with a triple, and he scored three batters later on a ground out by Thompson that put YSU ahead 1-0.
The Raiders tied the score as four straight batters reached after there were two outs in the top of the second, and Youngstown State went back on top in the bottom half when Franken homered to right center.
Wright State got RBI singles from Vore and Patrick in the top of the third, and Sass hit a two-run, opposite-field homer in a three-run fourth for the Raiders. Baker's solo shot in the fifth increased the lead to 7-2, but the Penguins began their comeback in the bottom of the inning.
Jack Johnson and Law hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the fifth, and Johnson scored from second on an error. Thompson then brought in Law with a sacrifice fly to bring the Penguins to within 7-4.
Youngstown State scored three two-out runs behind aggressive baserunning in the seventh to tie the game at 7-7. After Law drew a one-out walk, he went from first to third on a single to right by Covas. Thompson then ripped a single to center for his third RBI of the game to bring the Penguins within two, and Covas and Thompson each moved up a base on a double steal. Both runners then scored on Brown's game-tying single to left.
Wright State put together another ninth-inning rally with three runs to go ahead 10-7. Pinch hitter Boston Smith hit a leadoff single and Greenwell was hit by a pitch before English gave way to Casey Marshalwitz out of the bullpen. After a strikeout of Sass, Luikart and Vore drew back-to-back walks, and Patrick's sacrifice fly gave the Raiders a 9-7 edge. The game's final run came on Patrick Fultz's two-out RBI single through the left side.
WSU starter Chet Lax allowed four runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits with six strikeouts over six innings. Josh Laisure gave up three runs on two hits before Garrett Peters came on to toss 1.1 scoreless innings to earn his fifth win. Brayden Shoetzow pitched a scoreless ninth inning to collect his fourth save of the season.
Youngstown State will close out its 2024 regular season schedule with a three-game Horizon League series at Milwaukee beginning on Thursday at noon ET.
