The Youngstown State baseball team drew 15 walks and posted 11 hits while scoring a season-high 15 runs in a 15-5 midweek victory over Mercyhurst on Tuesday evening at Eastwood Field.
The Penguins trailed 2-0 after the top of the second inning before outscoring the Lakers 15-3 the rest of the way to secure the non-conference victory in seven innings. YSU's 15 walks rank as the second most in a game in program history, one shy of the school record of 16. The Penguins drew 15 walks in a game for the first time since walking 15 times at Oakland on May 6, 2001.
Youngstown State won its second straight game to improve to 3-16 overall on the season while Mercyhurst fell to 4-15.
Brayden Kuriger went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Penguins offensively. Kyle Fossum hit a three-run blast for his seventh homer of the season while Caleb Hadley hit a home run, drove in two runs and scored three times. Tommy Rover had two walks, an RBI single and three runs scored while Garrett Cutting added a pair of hits and scored three times.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts over four innings to earn his first win of the season. Braden Gebhardt, Aidan English, Sloan Ulrich and Nolan Kubilus combined to surrender two runs on four hits over the final three frames.
Mercyhurst struck first with two runs on two hits in the top of the second inning. Ranciel Ventura hit a leadoff double and scored on an RBI groundout by Ty Cupp. Chander Powell walked and came around to score on a two-out RBI double from Casey Smith.
Youngstown State evened the score with a pair of runs on four walks and an error in the home half of the second. Cole Smith drew a leadoff walk and scored on a sacrifice fly from Eli Brown while Kuriger reached on an error and scored when Hadley drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Penguins moved in front in the bottom of the third when Smith drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on an RBI double from Kuriger. Jay Wrona brought home Kuriger with a two-out RBI single to give YSU a 4-2 advantage.
The Lakers cut their deficit in half with a single run in the top of the fourth inning. Ray Altmeyer hit a one-out single, advanced to second on a single by Powell and scored on a two-out RBI single from Smith.
Youngstown State got the run back in the bottom of the fourth as Rover drew a leadoff walk and scored on a two-out RBI single from Brady Shannon. The Penguins opened the game up with four runs in the home half of the fifth. Hadley was hit by a pitch and scored a wild pitch before Smith drove in a run with an RBI groundout. Kuriger delivered a two-out, two-run single to right field to give YSU a 9-3 lead.
Mercyhurst scored a single tally in the top of the sixth as Smith drew a one-out walk, advanced to third on a single from Chirs Juchno and scored on Joey Trivisonno's RBI single.
The Penguins answered with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the sixth to build a 13-4 edge. Hadley drew a two-out walk, advanced to second on a single from Cutting and scored on Rover's RBI single to right center. Fossum followed with a towering three-run blast to left center field.
The Lakers scored their final run in the top of the seventh as Altmeyer tripled and scored on a wild pitch.
YSU scored twice in the bottom half of the seventh to enact the seven-inning run rule. Hadley hit his second home run of the season to right field with two outs before a single by Cutting and a walk by Rover. Cutting raced home following an errant throw to second base when Fossum reached on a fielder's choice for the game's final run.
Mercyhurst starer Nick Hamilton allowed two runs on four walks over two innings on the mound. Greg Schmidt suffered the loss after permitting two runs on two hits and three walks as the first of five relievers for the Lakers.
Youngstown State will continue its homestand at Eastwood Field on Friday when it begins a three-game Horizon League series against Purdue Fort Wayne at 5 p.m.
