The Youngstown State baseball team (3-19, 1-2 Horizon) kicked off the second half of its eight-game road trip in a seesaw slugfest, but they still ended up on the short end of the stick with an 8-7 loss against the University of Pittsburgh (17-6, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) on Wednesday afternoon at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh.
Wednesday’s line
Youngstown State (R-H-E-LOB): 7-11-1-5
Pitt (R-H-E-LOB): 8-11-1-8
W: Mikey Gray (2-)
L: Tyler Heflin (1-1)
The Penguins wasted no time making a statement in the top of the first inning with back-to-back one-out solo home runs from Nathan Beckley and Brayden Kuriger, which kicked off the scoring.
In the bottom half of the first inning, the Panthers struck back when Cade Dulin hit a one-out double to left-center field and scored on Lorenzo Carrier’s single through the right side of the infield to make it a 2-1 deficit.
The score stayed the same until the bottom of the third when the Panthers counteracted the Penguins first-inning home run attack with back-to-back one-out solo bombs of their own courtesy of Dulin and Carrier, which gave the home team its first lead of the afternoon at 3-2.
The Penguins waddled back into it later in the contest when Nic Goodwin and Misael Uriepero led off the fifth inning with consecutive singles. One out later, Alex Jang’s single to right loaded the bases before Beckley followed it up with an infield hit to short, which tied it up at 3-3. Kuriger then reached on a throwing error by Pitt third baseman Kai Wagner, which gave YSU the advantage, 4-3.
Pitt was ready to pounce in the bottom of the sixth with another batch of one-out back-to-back solo jacks from Sebastian Pisacreta and Carter Dierdorf, which gave the home team the lead back at 5-4.
Youngstown State refused to skate on thin ice when Ryan Schummer, with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, nailed his first round-tripper as a Penguin deep to right field to knot it back up at 5-5.
The Panthers got that run back in the bottom half of the eighth when Pisacreta singled to right-center with one out before he was subbed out in favor of pinch-runner Zach Walsh. Back-to-back walks to Dierdorf and Derrick Tarpley Jr. loaded the bases, which prompted Penguins head coach Tyler Charpie to make a pitching change by pulling out Aidan English in favor of Tyler Heflin. Then Julian Irizarry reached on a 6-4 fielder’s choice, which brought in Walsh as the go-ahead run and gave Pitt the advantage at 6-5.
The Penguins refused to back down as Misael Uriepero led off the ninth inning with an infield hit. One out later, freshman Alex Jang hit a go-ahead two-run homer deep to left field — his third of the season — to give YSU the lead back at 7-6.
However, Pitt had a chance to stay alive when Carrier led off the bottom of the ninth by getting hit by a pitch and advanced to second on Wagner’s base hit through the left side of the infield. Then Joey Baran stepped up and reached safely on a bunt single to the mound. On that same play, Heflin made a terrible throw past Schummer at first base, allowing both Carrier and Wagner to score to give Pitt the 8-7 walk-off win.
Youngstown State starting pitcher and Savannah State transfer Brevin Smith earned his first start in a Penguin uniform, surrendering just three runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout in three innings. Queens transfer Sumner Estes pitched an inning and a third of one-hit scoreless relief, recording a walk and a strikeout as well. Purdue transfer Kale Wemer also threw an inning and a third, but gave up those back-to-back homers to Pisacreta and Dierdorf in the sixth.
Banks Cox threw an inning and a third, throwing a wild pitch and committing a balk. English recorded one strikeout before inheriting a hit, a run and two walks in the eighth. Heflin got the last two outs in the eighth, but still suffered the loss after his throwing error in the ninth cost his team the game.
Pitt starting pitcher Freddy Beruvides Jr. pitched 3 ⅓ innings, surrendering three runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Joey Ciancimino took over for Beruvides in the fourth and went an inning and two-thirds, giving up four hits and two runs (one earned) with a trio of punchouts out of the bullpen before Sam Bryan tossed a one-walk scoreless sixth inning. Eddie Smink threw 2 ⅓ innings and fanned three batters of his own, but surrendered three runs in as many hits. Mikey Gray earned the win after coming in to get the last two outs of the ninth.
Both teams tallied 11 hits and four home runs each. Uriepero and Beckley both had three hits each for YSU, while Jang went 2-for-5. Dulin, Carrier, Pisacreta, Dierdorf and Baran all recorded two hits each for Pitt.
The win for the Panthers’ marked their 17th win over 23 games this season, which is one more win than Mike Bell’s squad recorded in all of 2025.
Up next, Youngstown State ends its eight-game non-conference road trip by returning to Horizon League play, visiting Northern Kentucky to start a three-game set on Friday afternoon with a 3 p.m. first pitch at Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Highland Heights, Kentucky. Friday’s and Saturday’s games of that series will be televised on ESPN+.
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