NILES, Ohio – The Milwaukee baseball team had a hard time getting anything going offensively as they dropped the regular season finale to Youngstown State 10-2 on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers will shift focus to the Horizon League Tournament which begins on Thursday.
 
"We didn't execute on the mound early and could never recover," head coach Scott Doffek commented. "It was good to get some guys in there that haven't had an opportunity and give some much-needed rest to some banged up players heading into the tournament."
 
Andy Neu got the start for MKE but struggled with the zone, walking five batters in two innings as the Penguins got to him for five runs.
 
Youngstown State took advantage of three walks in the first inning as it scored three runs on just one hit in the opening frame.
 
The Panthers got one back in the second inning as Jake Novak singled in Jack Kraus who walked to lead off the inning but then Travis Perry found his groove. The Penguins' starter retired 14 straight MKE batters to keep the Panthers off the board.
 
Meanwhile, YSU added three solo runs in three different innings to pull in front 6-1 through seven frames.
 
In the eighth, Jack Cavanaugh drove in Cherokee LeBeau before the Penguins escaped with the bases loaded to keep it at 6-2.
 
YSU responded, again taking advantage of walks, scoring four runs in the bottom half for a 10-2 lead and cruised to the victory.
 
Ryan Hoerter and Nick Gilhaus combined for a solid 5.0 innings of relief, allowing just four hits and zero earned runs to get MKE through the seventh inning.
 
The Panthers managed just five hits on the day, with all five coming from different players.
 
Despite the loss, the Panthers secured the No. 4 seed for the Horizon League Tournament. Milwaukee will face No. 1 seed Wright State on Thursday, May 27 at 10:00 am CT. Additional information on the tournament and live links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.