FRANKLIN, Wis. – The Milwaukee baseball team won the second game of a doubleheader against the Youngstown State Penguins by the score of 9-2 after dropping the opener by a 2-1 margin.
 
Pitching was strong for the Panthers as starters Riley Frey and Luke Hansel each pitched into the seventh inning. Frey took the hard-luck loss in the opener as he allowed two runs and struck out five over his first home start of the season. Hansel struck out seven batters over his seven innings of work while allowing two runs to improve to 4-1.
 
"Riley did a good job of minimizing everything", said head coach Scott Doffek. "Out of all the hits that they had in game one, Riley only gave up two runs. Luke also did a really good job of keeping a good lineup off balance and he made some big pitches when he had to."
 
"Offensively, we had opportunities in the batter's box in game one, but it was disappointing result", added Doffek. "We responded and changed our mentality in game two and got rewarded by putting up some crooked numbers early in the game."
 
Luke Seidel led the offense with four hits and three RBIs on the day, while both Aaron Chapman and Tommy Benson each had three hits on the afternoon as Chapman scored a pair of runs and Benson crossed the plate once.
 
Mark Connelly and Justin Hausser had two RBIs apiece in game two as Connelly had a pair of doubles in game two. Marcus Cline had a double in the night cap as well, while Jack Thelen had a two-base hit and scored a pair of runs on the day. Nate DeYoung rounded out the Panther offense with a pair of walks and a single.
 
Game 1 Summary
In the top of the first inning, the first two batters reached but Frey relied on his defense to get the twin killing before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
 
Milwaukee had a pair of singles in the bottom of the first but were unable to capitalize and left a pair of runners on base.
 
Youngstown State loaded the bases in the top of the third and cashed in with two runs in the inning with a pair of RBI groundouts.
 
The Penguins threatened again in the top of the fourth with the first two runners reaching, but Thelen made a catch off a bunt and turned it into a double play. After two more Penguins reached, Frey got the third out of the inning to keep the score at two.
 
Connelly walked on six pitches to lead off the bottom of the fourth and moved up to second on a wild pitch three batters later. Hausser walked to put a pair of runners on before Benson reached on an error as Connelly scored the lone Panther run of the game.
 
Frey made his way into the seventh inning and got the first two outs before Nick Gilhaus came on to get the third out of the inning via strikeout.
 
Gilhaus continued to keep the Penguins in check into the bottom of the ninth, where the Panthers were unable to get a baserunner on as Youngstown State hung on for the 2-1 win.
 
Game 2 Summary
Milwaukee jumped out to an early lead in the first as Seidel led off the game with a base knock before Chapman singled to put a pair of runners on. Connelly followed with a double to left centerfield to plate the first runner, before a fielding error allowed the second runner to score.
 
DeYoung walked and then stole second, before Hausser connected on a sacrifice fly to allow Connelly to run home with the third Panther run of the inning.
 
Handed a three-run lead, Hansel got to work and recorded a pair of groundouts before ending the top of the second with a three-pitch strikeout.
 
After a scoreless second inning, the Panther offense got back to work in the bottom of the third with a four spot. Connelly reached on a one-out hit by pitch, before DeYoung followed with a single. Hausser plated the first run of the inning with a single to bring Connelly home.
 
Jake Novak reached on a wild pitch after striking out, as Hausser scored on the ball that got away from the catcher. Seidel capped off the scoring in the inning with a two-run single to put the Panthers up by seven.
 
Youngstown State got a run in the top of the fourth, but the Panthers answered right back in the bottom of the inning as Chapman walked and stole second before Connelly doubled down the right field line to put MKE back up, 8-1.
 
Milwaukee added one more run in the bottom of the fifth as Thelen walked to lead off the inning and moved up to third on a pair of wild pitches. Seidel grounded out to plate Thelen to give the Panthers their largest lead of the day at eight runs.
 
Hansel continued to keep the Penguin bats in check working around a pair of baserunners in both the fifth and sixth innings before Youngstown State scratched across a run in the top of the seventh.
 
The Panthers went to the bullpen in the eighth with Sam Mathews getting a ground out and a flyout, with a baserunner ousted in between as Thelen caught his second baserunner in as many innings and fourth on the day.

Mike Sullivan came on to close out the day and struck out one batter as he capped off the game with a 1-2-3 inning.
 
Up Next
Milwaukee and Youngstown State will meet in the final game of the three-game series on Sunday, when the teams meet again at Franklin Field. Game time is currently set for 12 p.m. on Sunday.
 
However, due to the impending weather in the Milwaukee area, a decision regarding the game and field conditions will be determined on Sunday, or sooner. Fans are encouraged to check back to MKEPanthers.com for more updates.