Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Youngstown State
Baseball Falls To Youngstown State In Game Two, 8-5
4/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2009
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Marshall University senior second baseman Adam Yeager went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored but John Koehnlein drove in three runs and finished 2-for-3 to help lift Youngstown State to an 8-5 victory over the Thundering Herd and force a split of Wednesday's non-conference twinbill at Cene Park.
With the loss, Marshall falls to 17-26 on the season, while Youngstown State moves to 12-28 overall.
After a scoreless first frame, the Penguins erupted for five runs on five hits and a Marshall error in the bottom of the second, highlighted by RBI singles from David Leon, Jacke Healey and Derek Carr, and a two-run base-knock by Koehnlein to stake the early lead.
Marshall responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third when sophomore right fielder Ben Jurevicius and Yeager drilled back-to-back one-out doubles. Yeager then stole third before a sacrifice fly by sophomore shortstop Kenny Socorro brought him home, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Marshall put two more on when junior third baseman Josh Valle and senior centerfielder Nate Lape drew two-out walks, but a strikeout ended the threat.
Youngstown State received a double from Jonathan Crist in the bottom of the third, who advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joe Iacobucci to extend its lead to 6-2 before Marshall pulled to within one at 6-5 thanks to a three-run top of the fourth.
Red-shirt freshman designated hitter Rhett Stafford started things off with a single up the middle before he came home on a double to left field by sophomore catcher Kevin Shackelford. A wild pitch sent Shackelford to third before freshman left fielder Eric Semeniuk singled him home. After a wild pitch moved Semeniuk to second, a two-bagger by Socorro drove in Marshall's third run of the inning making the score 6-5.
The Penguins answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Koehnlein and then added its eighth run on an RBI triple Carr in the bottom of the sixth, making the score 8-5.
Youngstown State reliever Jim Kinnick pitched the final 2.1 innings of the seven inning contest, keeping Marshall off the board en route to his first win the season, moving to 1-1 on the season. Marshall starter Brian Mooney, meanwhile, suffered the loss after 3.1 innings of work on the hill and falls to 0-1 overall.
Stafford registered two hits, while Socorro drove in two runs in the losing effort.
Sophomore right-handed reliever Ian Kadish pitched two innings of relief and gave up a run on a hit while sophomore southpaw Kyle Blank tossed the final two-thirds and retired both batters he faced.
Marshall returns to action beginning Friday, May 1-3 when it travels to Orlando, Fla. for a three-game set with UCF. Friday's first-pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET.
