April 20, 2008

Late-Inning Rally Kick-Starts Doubleheader Sweep of Milwaukee

    Niles, Ohio -- Youngstown State's Cory Hornyak hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning of game one, and pitcher Adam Kalafos helped the Penguins complete a sweep of Milwaukee on Sunday at Eastwood Field.
    Hornyak's line-drive game-winner to left center came after a pinch-hit solo homer by Tom Clayton with two outs in ninth tied the score and sent the game to extra innings. The Penguins took gave one 10-9 and game two 10-3.
    With Wright State's doubleheader sweep of UIC, the Penguins currently sit one game out of first place with half of the Horizon League season remaining. YSU improved to 16-22 overall, 8-5 in the Horizon League and 11-6 at home.
    After YSU's come-from-behind win in the opener, Kalafos emerged to have a solid outing on a day that was otherwise a slugfest. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out nine batters in 6.2 innings to earn his second win of the week. Craig Gillet appeared in relief in the seventh with a runner on and YSU ahead 4-3, but he worked out of the inning and held the Panthers scoreless in the final two frames to earn his first save.
    Milwaukee led 1-0 after Andy Gerhartz led off the game with a home run, but David Leon's RBI single in the second knotted the score at 1-1. YSU then opened up a 4-1 lead in the sixth as Sean Lucas scored on a wild pitch, Eric Marzec tripled home Erich Diedrich and Joe Iacobucci brought in Marzec on a sacrifice fly.
    UWM finally caught up with Kalafos in the seventh and got within one off of the senior righty. Dan Buchholz drew a leadoff walk, and Gerhartz doubled to left two batters later. After a groundout, Nick Wichser  singled to left to make the score 4-3. Gillet allowed a single to Shawn Wozniak, but he got a fly out to end the inning with the lead intact.
    YSU got a run back in the seventh as Lucas singled and scored on Diedrich's double, and the Penguins batted around in a five-run eighth that resulted in the final 10-3 margin. The first three Penguins reached in the inning despite not hitting the ball out of the infield. Leon reached on an infield single, and Hornyak reached when his sacrifice bunt was thrown wide of first, and Josh Page had a bunt single. Lucas and Marzec then had sacrifice flies, Jason Reitenbach hit a two-run single and C.J. Morris hit an RBI double.
    Game one was a slugfest through five innings as the teams battled to an 8-8 draw, but both bullpens were solid and allowed a combined three runs over the final five frames. YSU's bullpen allowed only one run on three hits in 5.2 innings after the Panthers had eight runs on 10 hits through the first 4.1 frames. Cody Dearth did not allow a run in three innings, and Marzec did not allow a run in the final two.
    Anthony Porter had four hits for YSU while Iacobucci had three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs. Nick Wichser had two hits, four RBIs and scored three times for Milwaukee.
    The first five innings featured three lead changes and two ties, and every player in YSU's lineup had at least one hit.
    Wichser hit a three-run home run in the first to give UWM a 3-0 lead, but YSU came back with two quick runs on four hits in the bottom half on RBIs from Diedrich and Iacobucci.
    The Panthers tacked on another run in the second before a four-run second gave YSU its first lead at 6-4. Leon was hit by a pitch to start the inning and scored on a double play, and Erich Diedrich followed with an RBI single that scored Reitenbach. Diedrich later scored on a wild pitch, and Porter doubled in Iacobucci.
    Milwaukee answered with two runs two tie the game in the third, and it took a 7-6 lead on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. YSU followed with a two-run fourth as Iacobucci singled home Diedrich and scored on Marzec's groundout.
    Milwaukee tied the score in the next half inning on another sacrifice fly, and neither team scored again until Troy Vesling walked with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth. The Panthers had a chance to blow the game open off of Marzec with the bases loaded and one out, but the sophomore right-hander got Buchholz to strike out and Doug Dekoning to ground out.
    UWM reliever Matt Holzheuter got the first two batters in the ninth out on two pitches before Clayton's pinch-hit homer that just cleared the wall in left.
    The Panthers had runners at the corners with one out  in the 10th, but Diedrich threw out Wichser trying to steal second and Marzec got Wozniak to fly out.
    Lucas was beaned with one out in YSU's 10th, and he went to third on two wild pitches. Holzheuter intentionally walked Diedrich and Iacobucci to set the table, and Hornyak ripped a 1-0 pitch to left center to bring in Lucas with the game-winning run.
    The walk-off hit was the second in as many weeks for the Penguins. Last Friday, Page had a pinch-hit two-run homer against UIC that sent the game to extras, and Eric Marzec hit a game-winning home run to left.
    Milwaukee dropped to 12-24 overall and 5-8 in league contests.
    YSU will play at Penn State on Wednesday at 5:35 p.m.