Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State softball team (7-24) scored 27 runs on 33 hits, including 10 for extra bases, on its way to a doubleheader sweep of Niagara (2-12), 11-3, 16-8, on Tuesday evening at the YSU Softball Field.
Sophomore Lydia Wilkerson went 7-for-8 on the day and scored four runs while Kennedy Dean went 5-for-8 with a total of seven runs batted in.
In the opener, freshman Kelsey Ogin fired a complete-game, allowed just five hits, and struck out five to record her second straight victory.
Junior Bree Kohler went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in while Wilkerson also tallied three hits. Freshman Ayla Ray went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Dean ripped a pair of doubles and drove in a run.
The Penguins jumped out to a 3-0 in the first keyed by a run-scoring double by Dean, and after the Purple Eagles cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the second, the Penguins added three more in the bottom half of the frame. Kohler, Ray, and senior Elyssa Imler each delivered run-scoring singles to take a 6-3 advantage.
Niagara cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the third, but the Penguins answered with an unearned run in the bottom half.
Kohler extended the Penguins lead to 8-3 with another run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth, and Youngstown State added three runs in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Kami Diaz, an RBI-double by Taylor Truran and Ayla Ray's single that plated Reese Campbell-Schaller.
In the nightcap, Dean went 3-for-6 with a home run and career-high six RBIs while Diaz went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four runs batted in while Taylor Truran had three hits and drive in two runs. Wilkerson went 4-for-4 and scored three times.
Niagara led 8-1 after two innings before the Penguins scored 15 unanswered runs for the 16-8 victory.
Youngstown State scored four in the bottom of the third on a three-run home run by Dean and Diaz's first career blast, a solo shot, to get within three, 8-5.
A two-run double by Diaz plated Dean and Bella Meyer, and Truran tied the game at 8-8 with a double to left-center field in the bottom of the fourth.
Youngstown State plated five runs in the fifth to take a 13-8 advantage. Dean drilled a two-run double, and back-to-back home runs by Meyer, a two-run blast, and Diaz's second homer of the game keyed the big inning.
A bases-loaded walk to Dean, a sacrifice fly by Meyer, who drove in three runs, and a run-scoring single by Truran enforced the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Youngstown State visits Bowling Green, Wednesday, March 26. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ohio.
