Guins Can't Overcome Early Deficit, Fall 7-6 to Butler in League Tourney

    Lorain, Ohio -- The Youngstown State baseball team trimmed an early five-run deficit to one, but the Penguins could not complete the comeback in a 7-6 loss to Butler in the play-in game of the 2009 Horizon League Baseball Championship.
    YSU's season ends with a record of 16-35 while Butler moves on to play Wright State on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
    The Penguins fell behind 5-0 and 7-2 before mounting their rally. All of Butler's runs were scored with two outs, and four of the runners who crossed the plate reached on a walk.
    "The whole year we've been fighting back, and our guys just never quit," head coach Rich Pasquale said. "That's what we do here. We never stop coming at you."
    Eric Marzec hit a three-run homer in his first game in more than a month to cut the score to 7-5 in the sixth, and Anthony Porter's solo homer in the seventh made the score 7-6. YSU had one-out singles in the eighth and ninth but could not get the tying run in.
    YSU's First-Team All-Horizon League pitcher Phil Klein had an off day, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks in three innings. It was his shortest start of the season, and his four walks were the most since issuing five at Towson on March 7.
    Jeremy Banks went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and Porter added three hits for YSU.
    Butler starter Jeff Sinkiewicz kept the Penguins off balance early before Marzec's homer forced from the game. He allowed 10 hits through five innings, but it was good enough to earn his first win of the season.
    YSU ended up outhitting Butler 13-8 for the game and 11-2 after the third inning. The Penguins' bullpen of Jim Kinnick, Trent Wood and Anthony Munoz allowed two runs on two hits in six innings.
    Grant Fillipitch went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs to lead Butler.
    The Bulldogs jumped on Klein for four runs on the first after there were two outs. Klein struck out the first and fourth hitters to offset two singles, but his control began to waiver. He walked Kyle Schultz on four pitches, and he fell behind Colin Ziegel 3-0 before eventually walking him on a full count to force a run in. Alex Montagano hit a two-run seeing-eye single through the right side to bring two more runs in, and Jason Jamerson singled off the third base bag to drive in the final run.
    Butler added a run in the third to go up 5-0 on another two-out hit and two more walks.
    Youngstown State got on the board with a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly. Banks led off with a double, and Porter followed with a hard single to right that put runners at the corners. Sinkiewicz struck out Jonathan Crist, and Joe Iacobucci followed with a fly ball to left center that plated Banks. C.J. Morris singled, but Marzec grounded out to end the inning.
    Banks drove home David Leon with a two-out single in the fifth to make the score 5-2.
    Butler regained its five-run margin in the sixth with the two-out, two-run home run by Fillipitch.