May 31, 2014

Penguins Capture First NCAA Win

By Chris Webb

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

@chrismwebb

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The improbable run continues.

After sweeping through the Horizon League tournament with four wins to earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament, the Youngstown State Penguins continue to make history. A 5-2 win over Indiana State (35-18) gave Youngstown State (17-37) the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.

“Obviously we are very excited about what we just accomplished,” Youngstown State coach Steve Gillispie said. “That is the first Division I postseason win in baseball for our program, and we just couldn't be more excited.”

Leading the way to the upset of the second-seeded Sycamores was the pitching of Patrick O’Brien and the Penguins’ bullpen.

Taking the mound in the elimination game, O’Brien, a senior, provided Youngstown State with 6.1 innings of two-run baseball, scattering eight hits. But before the right-hander carried YSU into the seventh, he had to work around trouble early.

“I wasn’t too familiar with this team,” O’Brien said. “I didn't know who I was facing; if it was the 1‑hitter or the 4‑hitter or where they were in their lineup at all.  So I was locked in and I was throwing strikes.”

The first pitch of the game saw Indiana State center fielder Landon Curry double to left field. O’Brien recovered with two outs with Curry advancing to third in the process. A wild pitch ball four allowed Curry to cross home, staking the first run of the game on the board.

It took two tries in the second, but YSU was able to even the score. Trying to score from second on a grounder up the middle by Shane Willoughby, Kevin Hix was thrown out by Curry. Willoughby advanced to second on the throw and scored one batter later on a single by Lorenzo Arcuri to know the game at 1.

Stopped by the ISU defense from a big inning, the Penguins received help from the Sycamores in their next at-bat.

Phil Lipari drew a leadoff walk, and a single by Alex Larivee put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly from Brent Gillespie put the Penguins in front 2-1. After a walk and an error, Indiana State starter David Stagg hit Willoughby, bringing in the third run of the game for YSU. Stagg struck out Arcuri to prevent further damage.

Indiana State halved its two-run deficit in the fourth with left fielder Connor McClain providing a run-scoring single to right. O’Brien worked out of a jam that saw the Sycamores produce only one run from a second and third with one out situation.

“Any time you can get out of those kind of situations, it's a switch in momentum,” Gillispie said. “We were able to take advantage of that.”

Their lead now 3-2, the Penguins countered with a pair of runs in the fourth.

After right fielder Kurt Laver drew a leadoff walk, Lipari singled to right field and a fielding error by Jacob Hayes allowed Laver to reach third. Larivee’s sacrifice fly to left pushed Laver across home. Lipari stole second in the next at-bat and stole third with two outs. Following a walk, putting runners on the corners, Josh White singled up the middle to bring in Lipari, making it a 5-2 game.

Stagg finished with a 3.2-inning outing, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

O’Brien (3-10), enjoying a three-run cushion, worked through the fifth and sixth innings only conceding a walk and single.

“I just did a good job of keeping the ball low, mixing it up,” O’Brien said.  “We worked the changeup early think in the game and it was working well, and in the middle of the game they were starting to get on to it, so started working the slider more.”

After a one-out walk and single by Hayes put two aboard, Gillispie called on junior right-hander Josh North. North struck out Sycamores catcher Mike Fitzgerald and DH Manuel Estevez to end the threat.

The seventh inning was ISU’s third of the game leaving two runners on base; the Sycamores were unable find the clutch hit needed to get the club back into the game.

“It seemed like the last month, we were working uphill every game,” Indiana State coach Mitch Hannahs said.  “And I think after a while, that takes a toll on you.”

Tyler Wampler singled off North in the eighth, but Indiana State was unable to generate a rally with its leadoff runner on. The Sycamores also couldn’t in the ninth off YSU closer Alex Frey, the senior southpaw working around a leadoff single by Curry before recording three straight outs to end the game.

“We haven't been able to string hits together and get the double when we needed it,” Wampler said. “I feel like that's how the last couple weeks has been for us.”

Indiana State finished with 10 hits, with Curry, first baseman Jeff Zahn and McClain each with two. The Sycamores stranded 11 runners.

Stuck on 35 wins for their past five games, Indiana State’s elimination from the Bloomington Regional after two games doesn’t damper the season the Sycamores had.

“A group of young men that were picked at the bottom of our league that just basically came out every day and gave us every ounce of everything they had,” Hannahs said.

Youngstown State faces Stanford for a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday as it looks to stave off elimination for another game, continue its end-of-season storybook surge.

“We just have to come back ready to play and try to win pitch by pitch, at‑bat by at‑bat, inning‑by‑inning,” Gillispie said. “Then add it up at the end of nine and see where we are.”