A late-game rally that fell short, a lopsided loss, and a missed chance to salvage the finale defined a frustrating weekend for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies baseball team (10-24, 5-10 Horizon), which was swept by Youngstown State at the Oakland Baseball Field.
Losing the series outright now moves the Golden Grizzlies to the bottom of the Horizon League standings, as the Penguins move up from last into a tie for third place with Northern Kentucky.
Game 1: Youngstown State 13, Oakland 12
The series opener turned into a back-and-forth battle that Oakland nearly stole, rallying late before falling just short in the final inning.
Youngstown State set the tone immediately in the first, capitalizing on walks and a hit batter to manufacture runs. Despite only recording three hits, the Penguins still pushed across four runs, sending the entire lineup to the plate.
Oakland answered right away. Following a single from Aidan Orr, Aidan Schuck sent one over the fence for a two-run home run, trimming the deficit to 4-2 by the end of the inning.
After an RBI single from Nathan Beckley to expand the Youngstown State lead in the following inning, Oakland responded again, loading the bases before Kyle Revere cleared them with a three-RBI double to tie the game at 5-5.
Through the next three innings, the Penguins took control, as Youngstown State broke the game open with eight runs across the third through fifth innings to stay ahead of Oakland.
The same could not be said about the Oakland bats through the same stretch, as the Golden Grizzlies mustered just a single run in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI double from Lucas Day. By the sixth inning, the Penguins had built a dominant 13-6 lead.
Facing a seven-run deficit, Oakland mounted its biggest push of the game in the sixth, scoring five runs highlighted by a Tony Konopiots’ single that brought in three runners and a two-run homer by Day, suddenly pulling within two runs at 13-11.
With momentum on Oakland’s side, the Penguins struggled against Oakland pitchers Tagertt Dillard and Ryan Donley, who held Youngstown State scoreless through the final four innings.
Although Oakland tallied another run in the bottom of the eighth, with Sam Griffith scoring on a balk, Oakland’s comeback bid ultimately fell just short, as in the ninth inning, a double play off Orr’s bat and a Schuck popout ended the game.
Game 2: Youngstown State 16, Oakland 2
Youngstown State secured the series win in game two and handed the Golden Grizzlies their largest loss so far this season in conference play.
After a home run from Penguin Luke Rossi in the game’s opening inning, the floodgates opened, and Youngstown State scored 11 unanswered runs through the first four innings, taking a commanding lead over the Golden Grizzlies.
With a mercy rule imminent, Oakland finally had a response in the fifth inning. After consecutive singles from Griffith and Day, Carter Hain sent a line drive to left center, bringing home Griffith for the Golden Grizzlies’ first run of the game.
Through the next two innings, Youngstown State refused to take its foot off the gas, tallying two more runs in the sixth inning and three runs in the seventh inning, keeping the Penguins comfortably ahead 16-1.
Down by double-digits, the Golden Grizzlies loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh following singles from Hain and Jack Lux and a walk. Although Ben Clark put another run on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly, the Penguins’ lead proved insurmountable to overcome, making Youngstown State the decisive winners of game two and the series.
Game 3: Youngstown State 6, Oakland 4
Trying to avoid a sweep in the finale, the Golden Grizzlies drew first blood, as a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases in the first inning. With Griffith up to bat, he hit a sacrifice fly to put Oakland ahead 1-0.
Youngstown State answered in the second inning, opening with a walk and a hit batter. With a chance to flip the game, Chryan Humphries and Garrett Cutting both connected for consecutive RBI singles, giving the Penguins a 2-1 edge.
The Penguins added on in the third as a hit batter, and a double from Beckley led to an RBI double for Alex Jang. With runners on second and third, Beckley scored on an Oakland fielding error to make it a 4-1 ball game.
Oakland responded in the fourth on an RBI single from Clark, yet the Penguins scored a run of their own in the top of the fifth, keeping Oakland from closing the gap as Beckley scored from second on a wild pitch.
After a chain of contact hits and bunts, featuring singles from Schuck and Day, Sam Patton connected for a sacrifice fly to bring Oakland closer to the Youngstown State lead. Hain followed up Patton with an RBI double, cutting the deficit to one at 5-4.
Aiming to widen the margin, Youngstown State succeeded in the sixth inning, with a Humphries walk setting things in motion, leading up to an RBI double from Cutting to push the Penguins’ lead to 6-4.
Neither team scored over the final three innings as both the Penguins and the Golden Grizzlies completely shut each other out, thanks to some elite pitching from Youngstown State’s Luke Zmolik and Oakland’s Andrew Landis, sealing the sweep for the Penguins.
On Deck
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will look to get back on track as they host the Central Michigan Chippewas at the Oakland Baseball Field this upcoming Tuesday, April 21.
Looking at the Chippewas, they will be a tough test for the Golden Grizzlies as they possess a 16-20 record with a conference record of 9-12 and are coming off a series win over the Ohio Bobcats.
Notably, before their series against the Bobcats, Central Michigan hosted Youngstown State and claimed an assertive 12-2 victory, mercy-ruling the Penguins in eight innings. After surrendering 35 runs this series to the Penguins, Oakland will look to find consistency on the bump.
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