Auburn, Ala. -- Senior right-hander and transfer Jack Messmore tossed 6.1 scoreless innings in his YSU debut in game one, but the Youngstown State baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at No. 5 Auburn on Saturday at Plainsman Park.
The Penguins battled the Tigers to a one-run decision for the second straight game to begin the 2026 season in a 2-1 defeat in 10 innings in game one before falling 17-2 in the nightcap and series finale.
Auburn secured the series sweep to begin the new campaign 3-0 while Youngstown State drops to 0-3.
Game 1 Recap
The Youngstown State baseball team held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning at No. 5 Auburn before the Tigers scored once in the ninth and once in the 10th to earn a walk-off 2-1 victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Plainsman Park.
The Penguins took their 1-0 edge with a single run in the top of the fifth, and the score remained the same until the bottom of the ninth inning. Cade Belyeu started Auburn's ninth with a leadoff double, Ethin Bingaman followed with a walk and Lucas Steele reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with nobody out. Belyeu raced home on a sacrifice fly from Bristol Carter to even the score before Mikey Rodriques struck out Brandon McCraine and got Bub Terrell to ground out to send the game to extra innings.
The nationally ranked Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out again the bottom of the 10th inning. After a force play at the plate, Chase Fralick was able to score from third on a wild pitch to give Auburn the walk-off win and the series victory.
A day after senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt put forth a masterful Opening Day starting pitching performance, Messmore followed suit by scattering six hits and striking out five batters over 6.1 scoreless innings in game one of Saturday's twinbill. In his first outing as a Penguin, the New Mexico transfer faced the minimum in four straight frames after retiring the side in order for the third time in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Aidan Dorsch recorded a pair of outs in relief in his YSU debut while Griffin Almond worked a scoreless inning in his first appearance as a Penguin. Rodriques allowed one run in the ninth during his lone inning of work while Aidan English suffered the loss after surrendering the winning run in the 10th.
Garrett Cutting went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI double while Alex Jang, Luke Rossi and Brady Shannon each added singles for the Penguins offensively.
The Penguins got on the scoreboard first for the second straight game with a single run in the top of the fifth inning. Shannon drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on Cutting's RBI double to right center field.
Auburn starter Jackson Sanders allowed one run on two hits with eight strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision. Jett Johnston tossed three scoreless innings of relief while Ryan Hetzler struck out the side during a scoreless 10th inning to pick up the win.
Game 2 Recap
Auburn scored in four of the first five innings on its way to a 17-2 victory over the Youngstown State baseball team in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at Plainsman Park.
Fralick hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first before Carter and Terrell each delivered run-scoring singles in the second to give the Tigers an early 5-0 advantage. Terrell singled and scored on sacrifice fly from Belyeu in the home half of the fourth before Auburn erupted for eight runs on five hits in the fifth to extend its lead to 14-0. The Tigers added three tallies in the sixth before the Guins plated a pair of runs in the top of the seventh for the final margin.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos was responsible for five runs on seven hits over 1.1 innings in a losing decision. Tyler Heflin logged 1.2 innings as the first of four relievers to appear in the contest for the Penguins. Freshman Bryce Palms made his first collegiate appearance while transfers Sumner Esters and Kale Wemer each made their YSU debuts.
James Carlson went 1-for-2 with a single in his collegiate debut while Jang recorded an RBI single in the finale after delivering a pinch-hit single in his first career plate appearance in game one on Saturday. Shannon hit safely for the third consecutive game with a double while transfer Ryan Schummer added a base hit in his Penguin debut.
Auburn starter Alex Petrovic earned the victory after limiting YSU to one hit and fanning nine batters over five scoreless frames.
Carter, Fralick, McCraine and Terrell each had three hits to pace the Tigers offensively.
Youngstown State will continue its early season road stretch on Thursday when it begins a four-game series at Oregon. First pitch for Thursday's series opener at PK Park is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast live on B1G+.
