Niles, Ohio -- The Youngstown State baseball team battled but dropped a 12-8 decision to Wright State on Sunday in the Horizon League series finale at Eastwood Field.
The Raiders held a 5-2 lead when the contest entered a weather delay due to heavy rainfall in the top of the fourth inning. After a delay of just over an hour, Cam Gilkerson hit the first pitch he saw when the game resumed over the wall in right center field to put Wright State ahead 7-2. The Raiders added one run in the fifth and two in the seventh while holding off the Penguins to secure the series sweep.
After trailing 10-4, YSU struck for one run in the seventh and two in the eighth to pull within striking distance heading into the ninth inning. Wright State added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth before Caleb Hadley hit a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning for the final margin.
Eli Brown went 2-for-3 with a double, a two-run homer and three runs scored to lead YSU offensively while Kyle Fossum recorded two hits including an RBI single.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos suffered the loss after allowing six runs on four hits with four strikeouts over 3.1 innings. Mikey Rodriques was responsible for four runs on six hits and five walks in 2.1 innings while Colin Casteel came on to surrender two runs over 3.2 innings of work.
The Raiders took an early 2-0 advantage on a two-run home run from Boston Smith in the top of the second inning. JP Peltier drew a leadoff walk before Smith sent his fourth home run of the series over the left field wall.
The Penguins evened the score at 2-2 with a two-run homer of their own in the home half of the second. Brady Shannon hit a two-out single and Brown followed with a two-run blast to left field.
Wright State regained the lead with three runs in the top of the third inning. Will Cook hit a leadoff double before Gus Gregory hit a two-out, two-run homer to right field. Peltier followed with a solo shot to left field to give the Raiders a 5-2 edge.
After play restarted following the weather delay, Gilkerson's two-run blast in the top of the fourth gave WSU a 7-2 lead.
Youngstown State cut Wright State's lead to 7-4 with a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth. Shannon singled and scored on Fossum's RBI single while Brown walked and scored on a sacrifice fly from Brayden Kuriger.
The Raiders scored a single run in the top of the fifth as Peltier drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Luke Arnold. Wright State pushed across two runs in the sixth to increase its lead to 10-4. Gregory doubled and scored on a wild pitch while Braylen Blomquist doubled and scored from third on an RBI infield single by Gilkerson.
The Penguins got back on the scoreboard with a single tally in the bottom of the seventh. Tommy Rover was hit by a pitch and was forced home when Nathan Beckley drew a bases-loaded walk. YSU struck for two more runs in the eighth to shave Wright State's lead to 10-7. Brown hit a leadoff double and scored on Rover's RBI double while Fossum walked and scored when Kuriger reached on a fielder's choice.
Wright State added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth as Harun Pelja issued back-to-back bases-loaded walks to Blomquist and Smith after coming on in relief of Casteel.
WSU starter Garrett Peters allowed two runs on three hits over two innings on the mound while JJ Thompson was responsible for two runs in 1.1 innings as the first of four relievers for the Raiders. Warren Hartzell was awarded the victory after permitting one run on three hits over 2.2 innings of relief.
The Penguins will return to non-conference play on Tuesday at Toledo. First pitch at Scott Park is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and YSNLive.com.
