April 15, 2008 | Box Score

Page Leads Hits Barrage as Penguins Beat Niagara, 13-3

    Struthers, Ohio --  Josh Page homered and had four of Youngstown State's 17 hits as the Penguins defeated Niagara 13-3 on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Cene Park.
    Page's solo shot off the left field foul pole ignited an 11-run outburst for YSU in the third and fourth innings. The Penguins batted around in both innings, scoring four runs on six hits in the third and seven runs on eight hits in the fourth.
    The game was called after Niagara failed to cut the margin to 10 runs in the top of the seventh.
    Adam Kalafos went the distance for YSU, allowing the three runs on five hits while striking out nine in seven innings. He struck out five straight batters in the second and third innings and had six through three frames.
    "Adam has been throwing the ball really well the last couple of outings, and today he really put it all together," YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. "He kept their guys off balance, and he stayed right with our plan.
    "The offense was aggressive and made them throw strikes. We were very smart at the plate."
    Niagara starter Bill Rafferty allowed one hit through two innings and worked out of a jam in the second before Page's homer sparked the offense with one out in the third. Rafferty retired the next batter, but the next five hitters all singled to account for three more runs.
    The Penguins then blew the game open with an 11-0 lead in the fourth as five different players had RBIs. Jason Reitenbach singled twice in the inning, and the floodgates opened when reliever Brad Lueck threw wildly to first as Page attempted to sacrifice Reitenbach to third with nobody out.
    After a long wait, Kalafos was tagged for two runs on two hits and two walks in the fifth before C.J. Morris's two-run single in the bottom half made the score 13-2. A leadoff double and sacrifice fly in the sixth resulted in the final margin.
    Rafferty was charged with the loss for Niagara, allowing four runs on seven hits in three innings.
    Erich Diedrich and Tom Clayton scored three times apiece, and Diedrich, Joe Iacobucci, Eric Marzec, Mike Turjanica and Reitenbach all had two hits.
    Page, a fifth-year senior, now has three home runs in his last 13 games after having just one in the first 164 contests of his career.
    The Penguins will play Ohio on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Eastwood Field.