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May 14, 2004
Thomas, 15 Hits Pace Penguins to 11-8 Victory Over
UIC
Niles, Ohio --
Youngstown State starter Justin
Thomas went eight strong innings
while six Penguins recorded two hits
apiece en route to knocking off
top-ranked Horizon League foe
Illinois-Chicago 11-8 Friday night
at Eastwood Field.
The lead changed hands five times in the contest as the
Penguins banged out 15 hits as a
team and rallied from a 7-6
seventh-inning deficit for the win.
With the victory, YSU improves to 16-27 overall and 5-9 in
the Horizon League while UIC drops
to 32-16 and 12-5.
With the score tied at eight, the Penguins erupted for three
runs in the bottom of the eighth
inning. Jeff Solt blasted the
gap in left center for a leadoff
double and scored when UIC catcher
Nelson Gord's throw to third on a
Jim Phillips sacrifice bunt sailed
into left field. Phillips then
beat Gord's throw to third on
Kendall Schlabach's sacrifice bunt
to put runners at the corners with
nobody out. Charles Schultz
followed with a two-run double to
give the Penguins two insurance runs
and an 11-8 lead.
Schultz finished with two hits and three RBIs while
Schlabach, Brandon Caipen, Justin
Banks, Solt and Phillips added two
hits apiece.
The Penguins scored a run in the first off UIC starter David
Haehnel to take a 1-0 lead when Jim
Lipinski plated Schlabach on a
sacrifice fly.
UIC answered in the second, however, as it scored two runs on
four hits to take a 2-1 lead.
After Thomas got Jordan DeVoir to
ground out to start the inning, the
Flames banged out three straight
hits as Bryan Russo singled, Brad
Ryan hit an RBI double and J.P.
Moran laid down a bunt single.
Two batters later, Mike Hughes hit a
two-out single to right to plate
Ryan and give the Flames a one-run
advantage.
Youngstown State struck right back with an unearned run in
the second to tie the score at two.
Banks led off the inning with a
single to center and advanced to
second on a ground out. With
two outs in the inning, Ryan's throw
from third on a Phillips grounder
was wide at first and Banks advanced
to third as the Penguins put runners
at the corners. Banks then
scored on a Haehnel wild pitch to
knot the score.
Both offenses were silenced until the fifth when UIC got a
run in the top half of the inning
when DeVoir brought home Gord on a
sacrifice fly to give the Flames a
3-2 lead..
The Penguins struck back immediately again in the bottom half
of the inning as they connected on
four straight hits with two outs to
take a 4-3 advantage. Phillips
began the two-out rally on a single
to right on a full count and
Schlabach followed with a single
through the left side. Caipen
then dropped a single in to left
field to plate Phillips and Schultz
followed with an RBI single that
snuck through the right side of the
infield.
YSU tacked on two more runs in the sixth as it again strung
four hits together. Banks got
the bats going with a one-out single
to right and Brian Boone followed
with a single up the middle to put
runners at the corners. Solt
and Phillips then hit RBI singles to
give the Penguins a 6-3 cushion.
UIC, however, scored four runs, three of which were unearned,
in the top of the seventh to reclaim
the lead at 7-6.
Cox tied the score with one swing in the bottom half of the
inning with his seventh homer of the
season and Brent Parks singled home
Banks with two outs to give the
Penguins an 8-7 lead.
UIC again answered with a run in the top of the eighth, but
the Penguins scored three times in
the bottom half of the frame for the
final tally.
The Flames threatened in the ninth as Andy Svitak walked
DeVoir to start the inning and went
3-0 to Russo, but the reliever
battled back to get Russo to fly out
and retired the next two hitters in
order to earn his second save of the
season.
Thomas threw 128 pitches and allowed eight runs, three of
which were unearned, on 13 hits and
struck out nine.
Haehnel went 5 2/3 innings for the Flames, surrendering six
runs on 11 hits. Marcus
Goodman was charged with the loss as
he allowed YSU's three runs in the
eighth.
The Penguins and Flames will continue their four-game series
Saturday with a doubleheader
beginning at noon. |
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