What a really nice turnaround after losing about 15 of 17 to start the season. They are back over .500 with their best HL record ever. People talking about the lady Pens winning the HL tourney. I was calling for Campbell's head & now looks like he has made me "eat my words". Because of some bad losses early on, I see no at-large NCAA bid, so good luck ladies and I hope you win your way in ... Go Guins!
Detroit, Mich. -- The Youngstown State softball team swept a doubleheader from Detroit Mercy, 6-2, and 12-2, in six innings to record its 12th consecutive Horizon League win and set a program record for most league wins with 17 on Sunday afternoon.
The Penguins finish the regular season with an overall record of 29-26 and 17-7 in the Horizon League. YSU earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Championships and will play Thursday, May 11, at 3:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. CDT. Detroit Mercy closes the regular season 15-32 overall and 12-10 in league play.
In game two, senior Brittney Moffatt went 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Penguins' 17-hit assault. Senior Maria Lacatena, juniors Hannah Lucas and Cali Mikovich and freshmen Elizabeth Birkbeck and Maddi Lusk each had two hits. Lacatena, Mikovich and Birkbeck also drive in two runs each.
The Penguins exploded for seven runs and three home runs in the top of the sixth inning to expand a 5-2 lead into an insurmountable 12-2 advantage. Mikovich led off the frame with a single and Moffatt belted a two-run home run to right field to push the YSU lead to 7-2. Three pitches later, Lacatena blasted a solo shot - her eighth home run of the year - to left-center field.
Birkbeck clobbered a two-run blast to right-center field scoring senior Sarah Dowd, who singled, Moffatt ripped a run-scoring single up the middle for her third run batted in of the inning and a bases-loaded walk to Lacatena capped the Penguins' scoring.
Down 2-0 after two innings, Mikovich's two-run double in the top of the third knotted the game at 2-2, and Moffatt's run-scoring single plated Mikovich with the go-ahead run. Lusk's RBI-fielder's choice scored Moffatt to give the Penguins a 4-2 edge.
YSU added a run in the fourth on Moffatt's two-out single to right-center field that plated Lucas.
Lusk picked up her 15th win of the season pitching a six-hit complete game with two strikeouts.
In game one, sophomore Paige Geanangel scattered five hits in a complete-game victory to post her fifth win of the year.
Lusk went 2-for-3 with an RBI while senior Alexandria Gibson hit a two-run home run.
