MILWAUKEE – Visiting Youngstown State took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and did not give up the advantage as it upended the Milwaukee baseball team by a 7-5 score on Saturday afternoon.
 
Tyler Bickers led Milwaukee with three hits to give him 10 for the series against Youngstown State and upping his season average to .387. Charlie Marion had a two-run home run, while Q Phillips drove in a pair late in the game for the Panthers.
 
Brandon Mikos threw seven innings and struck out five Panthers to earn the win. Kyle Fossum and Cole Smith each drove in two runs apiece for the Penguins.
 
"Mikos did a nice job against us and he was someone that we did some damage against at their place," said head coach Shaun Wegner. "Our offense just wasn't able to get it going early and we fought back hard at the end, but it was just a little bit too late."
 
A two-run wild pitch gave YSU the lead in the top of the first before the Penguins added two more in the third on a double by Smith. Gabe Roessler got a run back for the Panthers in the bottom of the third on a ground ball out.
 
After the Penguins increased its lead to 7-1 on a pair of home runs in the top of the fourth, Bickers singled and Marion connected on his ninth round tripper of the season to slice the deficit to four.
 
The 7-3 score held through the ninth inning as the Panthers got effective innings out of the bullpen from Matthew Mueller, Tristan Arnold, and Logan Snow.
 
"That could have easily gotten away from us quickly," added Wegner. "Our bullpen was able to be the steadying presence that we needed to allow us a chance to fight back and try to score as many runs as we could have."
 
In the ninth, Caden Headlee walked and Tate Schmidt singled. Phillips doubled the pair home and Roessler then reached on an error as YSU made a pitching change. Justin Hausser was up with the tying runs on base and hit a chopper over the pitcher's head and was ruled out on a close play at first base to end the game.
 
Mueller finished the game with six strikeouts in relief of Mason Weckler, who took the loss after allowing the first six runs to YSU. Arnold struck out one of the two batters he faced, while Snow finished off the game with one strikeout over his 1 1/3 innings of work.
 
Before the start of the contest, Milwaukee recognized the members of their senior class including Phillips, Roessler, Teige Lethert, Mike Sullivan, Gavin Theis, Logan Schulfer, Bickers, Keagon Kaufmann, Thomas Otto, Hausser, Snow, Isaac Wenzel, Headlee, and student manager Cainan Squibb.
 
Milwaukee will be in Ohio for the next four beginning on Wednesday against Cincinnati at 5:00 p.m. (CT) before heading to Wright State for a weekend series at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.