May 23, 2012

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. - Drew Dosch tripled in the tying and go-ahead runs in the sixth inning to help send Youngstown State University to an 8-4 upset victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team Wednesday at Les Miller Field.

The Panthers (26-26) trailed early, but led 3-2 before the Penguins (10-42) took a 4-3 advantage on Dosch's extra-base hit en route to plating five unanswered runs to take control in the Horizon League Tournament opener for both teams.

Junior Jonathan Capasso led the offense with a 3-for-4 day, scoring one run and driving in another. Senior Phil Striggow went 2-for-3 as the only other player in the lineup with more than one hit. Freshman Luke Meeteer did have a single to extend his hitting streak to 18 games.

Dosch finished with two hits and three RBI and Jeremy Banks had three hits and drove in a pair to lead the YSU offense.

Down, 2-0, after a rocky first inning, UWM battled back to tie it in the third inning. Back-to-back singles by senior Jim Lundstrom and Meeteer were followed by a hit batter to load the bases. Sophomore Sam Koenig plated the first run with a sacrifice fly and the game was tied a batter later on senior Paul Hoenecke's sac fly.

Milwaukee would go on to take the short-lived lead at 3-2 on Lundstrom's sac fly in the bottom of the fourth inning.

After taking the lead in the sixth, Youngstown State tacked on single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

Junior Eric Semmelhack (5-7) suffered the loss. After giving up two runs in the first, he settled down and faced the minimum through the next three innings before being relieved in the sixth. He allowed five earned runs, walking one and striking out five.

Russ Harless (3-6) picked up the win with 6.0 innings of work, allowing three runs and striking out two.

Capasso actually lost a home run on an odd play. He hit a ball over the fence in right field in the eighth, but what looked like a two-run home run went in the books as an RBI-single after he overran the runner at first base.

The Panthers begin the long road through the consolation bracket in the first game of the day tomorrow, taking on Butler at 10 a.m. The Bulldogs fell to UIC, 10-1, in their first game of the tournament.