The Youngstown State baseball team secured its first win under head coach Trevor Charpie with an 8-5 victory over Abilene Christian in the series finale on Sunday at Crutcher Scott Field in Abilene, Texas.
The Penguins jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Wildcats tied the contest with a three-run sixth. YSU scored in each of its final four at bats while holding ACU to two runs in the eighth to earn its first victory of the 2025 season.
Five Penguins recorded multiple hits as the visitors finished with a season-high 13 hits as a team. On the mound, Tyler Heflin, Harun Pelja and Sloan Ulrich combined to limit the Wildcats to just three hits in the game.
Heflin allowed three runs on three hits with five strikeouts over five innings in his first career start. The freshman right-hander retired the side in order in three different frames as he blanked the Wildcats over the first five innings. The West Chester, Ohio, native retired the first seven batters he faced and 14 of the first 15.
Pelja surrendered two runs, one of them earned, without allowing a hit over 2.1 innings of relief to earn the victory. Ulrich retired all five batters he faced and retired the side in order in the ninth to collect the save.
Garrett Cutting, Cole Smith, Kyle Fossum and Nathan Beckley each had two hits as the top four hitters in YSU's lineup. Brayden Kuriger delivered a triple and an RBI single while freshman Caleb Hadley homered in first-career plate appearance.
The Penguins got on the board on the top of the third when Hadley, the true freshman catcher from Southington, Ohio, hit a solo home run to left field on the second pitch of his first collegiate at bat. Cutting drew a one-out walk, advanced to third on a double by Smith and scored on a sacrifice fly from Fossum to give YSU a 2-0 edge.
Youngstown State pushed its lead to 3-0 with a single run on three hits in the top of the sixth. Smith drew a leadoff walk, reached third on back-to-back singles from Fossum and Beckley and scored on an RBI single by Kuriger.
The Wildcats evened the score with three runs in the home half of the sixth inning. Benjamin Greer hit a leadoff double and Diego Cardenas followed with a two-run home run. Nick Arias was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Grant Watkins.
The Penguins answered with a pair of runs on three hits on the top of the seventh to regain a 5-3 advantage. Brandon McClain Banks hit a one-out single and scored on an RBI groundout by Smith while Cutting doubled and scored on a two-out RBI single from Fossum.
YSU increased its lead to 7-3 with two more runs in the top of the eighth. Kuriger hit a leadoff triple and Teddy Ruffner followed with an RBI single. Ruffner stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a two-out RBI single by Cutting.
Abilene Christian cut its deficit in half with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Three hit batters loaded the bases before Pelja handed the ball to Ulrich out of the bullpen. The Wildcats were able to plate two runs after a flyout to center field by Watkins as the second run scored following an error on the relay throw.
ACU starter Cade McGarrh allowed three runs on six hits and struck out seven batters over 5.1 innings in a no-decision. Cooper Hrbacek suffered the loss after permitting two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings as the first of five relievers for the Wildcats.
Youngstown State will return to Texas next week for a four-game series against UTSA in San Antionio. The Penguins and Roadrunners are scheduled to open the series on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
