CSU/Youngstown State (Game One) Box Score

CSU/Youngstown State (Game Two) Box Score

Contact: Tim Ertle

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CANFIELD, Ohio - The Cleveland State offense clubbed four homers and combined to score 10 runs but couldn't hold down Youngstown State as the host Penguins swept Saturday's (March 31) doubleheader, taking the first game 3-2 in eight innings and winning the second contest by a 10-8 count.

The Vikings - who held a lead in both games on Saturday - fall to 8-25 overall and 1-4 in the Horizon League. Youngstown State improves to 18-6-1 overall and 4-1 in the league.

Cleveland State was within one out of winning the first game but allowed the Penguins to use some two-out magic to force extra innings.

The Penguins used a CSU error in the home half of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.

Thanks to a Dara Toman homer - one of three on the day - the Vikings tied the game at 1-1 with one out in the top of the sixth. After Andrea Nagy doubled and advanced on a groundout to the right side by starting pitcher Sara Shields, Nena Doran singled through the left side to put the Vikings ahead 2-1. 

After the Vikings couldn't tack on an insurance run in the top of the inning, Shields retired the first two Penguins she faced in the seventh. She then hit shortstop Kristen Philen with a pitch and the next batter, Brooke Meenachan, doubled to right center. With two outs, Philen was off on contact and came around to score and knot the game at 2-2.

In the top of the eighth, the Vikings had two on with one out after a Toman walk and a Nagy single. The next two batters were retired to setup the Penguins in the bottom of the eighth.

Left fielder Caroline Krombach popped up to Shields, but right fielder Jordan Ingalls ended the game with a walk-off homer to center field.

Shields took the loss in game one to fall to 6-7 on the season. She allowed just five hits and didn't walk a batter in her 7.1 innings of work. Shields recorded six strikeouts and only two of the three runs were earned.

After Kayla Haslett pitched the first 7.1 innings and allowed just two earned runs, Casey Crozier came in and worked out of a jam in the eighth to become the pitcher of record. She earned the win to jump to 8-3.

Haslett allowed seven hits and two runs - both of which were earned - in her 7.1 innings. She had three strikeouts and issued one walk.

Game two featured much more offense, including three Cleveland State homers that accounted for seven of the eight Viking runs. Toman belted two to give her 14 so far this season and Shields added a blast, her fourth of the year.

Shields, who also started the second game in the circle, helped her own cause with the two-run shot in the top of the first to stake CSU to a 2-0 lead. She brought in Toman after she started the game by reaching on a throwing error by YSU starting pitcher Hana Somogyi.

The Penguins took the lead in the bottom of the second with four runs on five hits - although they were aided by a Viking error.

Shields didn't finish the second inning, leaving after 1.2 innings with four runs scored against her. Because of the defensive miscue, the sophomore was only charged with one run despite allowing six hits.

Brittany Bate took over in the circle and YSU scored two runs off her in the bottom of the third to build a 6-2 lead.

The Vikings cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth when Alicia Nichols tripled and scored on a wild pitch while Toman was at the plate. After Nichols scored, Toman belted a home run to right center to make it a 6-4 game.

YSU countered with a three-run fifth to make it a 9-4 game after five innings, but CSU made things interesting with a Toman grand slam in the sixth that plated Caila Ferro, Nichols and Afton Allred.

The Penguins tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 10-8 game and that ended up as the final margin.

Shields took the loss in game two to fall to 6-8. Bate worked 3.2 innings and was charged with six runs. Kelsi Reed came in to relieve Bate in the bottom of the sixth and retired the only two batters she faced.

Both Ferro and Toman finished the day 3-for-7 (.429). Ferro had a doubled and scored a run while all three of Toman's hits were homers. She scored four runs on the day.

Shields was 3-for-8 (.375) and had a hit in both games to extend her hitting streak to eight games, the longest by a Viking so far this season.

The series will conclude tomorrow (April 1) with an 11:00 a.m. game at McCune Park. The game will be covered with free live stats, available here.