Pitt gets better of Youngstown State in slugfest

Apr. 5—NILES, Ohio — The first few innings were filled with offense. Runs were scored in long half innings in a baseball game between the Youngstown State and Pittsburgh baseball teams.

However, a strong performance by Erubiel Candelario turned the tide in Pitt's 13-7 win over the Penguins Tuesday at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio.

Pitt led 9-7 by the end of the fourth inning. Candelario (2-0), a sophomore, took over in the fifth. He earned the win with five innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven and issuing a pair of walks.

Zach Stayduhar took the loss for YSU. Stayduhar (0-1) allowed three runs on three walks and three hits in two innings of relief.

"If you have elite pitching, it can really make it tough on a lot of guys," Pitt head coach Mike Bell said.

Tuesday was the first meeting between the two teams. The Panthers and Penguins will play again on Monday at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh.

Sky Duff, Kyle Hess, AJ Nessler and Jayden Melendez all had two RBIs for the Panthers. Jack Anderson and Noah Martinez drove in one run each. Anderson went 1 for 1 with four walks.

Padraig O'Shaughnessy led the Penguins with a 1-for-2 night with three RBIs. Andre Good had two runs driven in, and Steven D'Eusanio and RJ Sherwood each drove in one.

Hickory graduate Clay Wiesen was 0 for 4 with a walk. In the field he had three assists and a putout for the Penguins.

The Panthers (13-13, 4-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) struck first when Anderson scored on a passed ball in the top of the first.

YSU (6-21, 3-5 Horizon League) responded with a four-run bottom half, however.

After reaching on a leadoff double, Trey Law scored via a sacrifice fly from D'Eusanio. Another sacrifice fly from Padraig O'Shaughnessy scored little brother, Braeden, to give the Penguins the lead. An RBI double down the right-field line from Good scored Tanner Grau, and a single by Sherwood to left plated Good for a 4-1 Penguins lead.

A two-run home run to left field by Melendez cut the lead to one run in the top of the second. After walks from Anthony LaSala and Anderson, Hess tripled to right field to score the pair as the Panthers retook the lead.

An RBI groundout by Martinez scored Hess to push the Pitt lead to 6-4.

In the bottom of the second, Law and Grau singled to set the table for Padraig O'Shaughnessy. The lefty slugger singled to right field, scoring Law and Grau and tying the game at 6.

The Panthers took the lead for good in the top of the third. Justin Acal doubled to left with one out, and walks by Duff and Melendez loaded the bases. Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to score Acal and give Pitt a 7-6 lead, but the Panthers were unable to take advantage of the bases-loaded situation.

In the fourth, a walk by Martinez and double by CJ Funk set the table for Nessler. The freshman singled to center field to score the pair and stretch the lead to 9-6.

In the bottom of the fourth, Grau was hit by a pitch with one out. Walks by D'Eusanio and Padraig O'Shaughnessy loaded the bases. Grau scored on a fielding error by Acal at second base.

A four-run seventh inning by the Panthers pushed the game out of reach.

LaSala doubled down the left-field line to start the seventh. Duff pulled a two-run home run to left, extending the lead to 11-7. Anderson walked in the next at-bat, and Martinez reached on a fielder's choice. They both scored on wild pitches from Brandin Anderson for a 13-7 lead.

"I like the at-bats we saw up and down the lineup," Bell said. "Very tough game to stay mentally focused with your at-bats because you have some success early, and they're starting to bring in new guys, flipping guys, situational guys here and there. You're kinda seeing different stuff throughout."

For the Penguins, it was another game against a Power 5 opponent. They are 2-10 this season, with both wins coming against Baylor. The other Power 5 opponents are Illinois, Wake Forest and Kansas State.

"It's all there to prepare us to compete in the Horizon League," YSU head coach Dan Bertolini said. "We're probably a win away right now from behind second place in the league. We should keep that in our sights and know that even though it was a tough day, we have everything in front of us moving forward with seven weeks left in the Horizon League."

As for the Panthers, they are trying to string some wins together. Their longest winning or losing streaks are three games each, so the Panthers haven't dug themselves into deep holes, but they also haven't gathered consistent momentum.

Pittsburgh leaves Trumbull County sixth in the ACC Coastal standings. Miami and Virginia (both 8-4) lead the log-jammed division.

"You always say you want to play your best baseball at the end of the year. Maybe our best ball is ahead of us," Bell said. "We've seen glimpses of it, and we've talked about it as a staff. We're hoping to find what makes these guys tick a little bit more to make these guys more consistent.

STICKER SHOCK

With one out in the bottom of the third, Sherwood came to the plate for YSU. He doubled to left field, but home plate umpire Dorsey Hager closely looked at his bat.

Hager met with the base umpires before returning the bat to the dugout. After an appeal from Bell, Hager asked for the bat back and ruled that Sherwood used an illegal bat.

A sticker is located on each bat, signaling that the bat was not tampered with and good for play. Sherwood's sticker was not located above the tape and resulted in Sherwood being out at second.