Niles, Ohio – Milwaukee scored seven runs over the first three innings and went on the salvage the Horizon League series finale with a 12-8 win over the Youngstown State baseball team on Sunday afternoon at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood.
Sunday's series finale, which marked Senior Day for the YSU baseball program, featured a pregame ceremony honoring a large group of 14 senior student athletes prior to their final home games at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood.
The Panthers scored twice in the first inning and once in the third before the Penguins produced two runs in the home half of the second to trim their deficit to 3-2. Milwaukee scored the next five runs, four of which came in the top of the third, and the Panthers held an 8-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh. YSU erupted for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to draw within 8-7, but Milwaukee outscored the Guins 4-1 over the final two frames to hang on for the win.
Milwaukee improved to 19-31 overall and 11-10 in Horizon League play with Sunday's win while Youngstown State dropped to 12-38 overall and 9-12 in league action with one weekend remaining in the regular season.
Brady Shannon went 2-for-5 with an RBI triple and a run scored while James Carlson added two hits including a double and drove in a run. The Penguins outhit the Panthers 10-8 in Sunday's series finale.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos allowed seven runs on six hits with three strikeouts over three innings on the mound in a losing effort. Luke Zmolik was responsible for one run with six punchouts over four innings of relief while Lane Rhodes was tagged with one run in his lone inning of work. Griffin Almond permitted three runs, one of which was earned, in one inning out of the bullpen.
The Panthers plated a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to jump in front. Grant Ross drew a leadoff walk and Charlie Marion followed with a single. Both baserunners moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Dylan O'Connell before Dominic Kibler brought home Ross with an RBI single. Marion was able to score from third when Kibler was caught attempting to steal second to give Milwaukee a 2-0 edge.
The Panthers pushed across a single run in the top of the second to increase their lead to 3-0. Tate Schmidt drew a leadoff walk and scored from third on an RBI sacrifice bunt from Joey Spence.
The Penguins cut Milwaukee's lead to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Nathan Beckley drew a leadoff walk and scored from second on Nic Goodwin's RBI single while Misael Uriepero singled and scored from third on an RBI bunt single from Carslon.
The Panthers answered with four runs on three home runs in the top of the third to build a 7-2 advantage. Marion led off the inning with a solo homer, O'Connell was hit by a pitch and Kibler followed with a two-run blast. John Hadley added a two-out solo home run later in the frame to give the visitors a five-run lead. Milwaukee added a single tally in the top of the fifth as O'Connell drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third and scored on an RBI groundout by Bradyn Horn.
The Penguins got back in the game with a five-run bottom of the seventh inning that cut Milwaukee's lead to 8-7. Goodwin was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a double by Carlson and scored on Brevin Smith's RBI groundout. Ryan Schummer delivered a two-run single and scored on Shannon's RBI triple while Shannon was able to race home on a wild pitch.
The Panthers posted a single tally in the top of the eighth inning before adding three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Teddy Ruffner's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth for the Penguins accounted for the final margin.
Milwaukee starter Riley Peterson surrendered four runs on five hits with six strikeouts over six innings to earn the win. Tristan Arnold allowed three runs before Camden Kuhnke limited YSU to one run over the final 2.2 innings to collect the save.
Marion, Kibler, Cade Palkowski and Hadley each recorded two hits for the Panthers offensively.
Youngstown State will conclude the 2026 regular season with a three-game series at Wright State beginning on Thursday at 3 p.m.
