NILES, Ohio – Dylan O'Connell became the single-season stolen base leader with a pair of steals in Milwaukee's 12-8 win over Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon.
O'Connell stole both second and third in the fifth inning to tie the previous mark and set a new single-season standard for stolen bases in a season. He scored a run in the fifth, to increase Milwaukee's early lead to 8-2.
Youngstown State scored five runs in the seventh inning to pull within one, but the Panthers scored one in the eighth and three in the ninth to create separation late in the game.
Milwaukee recorded eight hits on the game, all multi-hit efforts by
Charlie Marion,
Dominic Kibler,
Cade Palkowski, and
John Hadley VI. Kibler drove in three runs, while Palkowski plated a pair. Marion led the Panthers with three runs scored.
Milwaukee was paced on the mound by
Riley Peterson, who struck out six batters over six-plus innings of work. After
Tristan Arnold retired a batter,
Camden Kuhnke worked through the final 2 2/3 innings to seal the victory.
"That was huge to get the Sunday game and just find a way to come away with the win," said head coach
Shaun Wegner. "Peterson was really good for us today and set the tone on the mound. He gave up a couple early, but those were groundballs with eyes that were just well placed. Arnold came in an got a quick out but then found himself in some trouble, and we had to turn it over to Kuhnke, who carried us through the finish line."
The Panthers scored two in the first inning against Penguins starting pitcher Brandon Mikos. Kibler opened the scoring with an RBI single, while Marion scored a run on an attempted double steal.
Milwaukee added a third run in the second inning as
Joey Spence brought home a run with a sacrifice bunt.
Youngstown State answered in the bottom half with a pair of first-pitch hits as the Penguins scored two runs in the inning before Peterson stranded the bases full.
In the third, Marion led off with a home run, and after O'Connell was hit by a pitch, Kibler connected on a two-run homer. Later in the inning, Hadley VI sent a ball over the left field fence to increase the lead to 7-2.
Peterson struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth before the Panthers added a run in the fifth. O'Connell led off with a walk, stole second and third, and scored on a groundout by
Bradyn Horn.
Youngstown State scored five runs in the seventh against Peterson and Arnold, before Kuhnke got the final two outs of the frame.
In the eighth, Milwaukee scored on a sacrifice fly by
Grant Ross and added three more runs in the ninth on a two-run double by Palkowski and a YSU error.
"Offensively, we had a lot of contributions from all over the lineup, including a really great showing by Palkowski, who came into the game midway and was able to produce two big doubles," said Wegner. "If we can keep putting together at bats, this lineup can be very dangerous come tournament time as long as we let the game come to us."
The Penguins scored a run on three-straight single in the ninth off Kuhnke, before a double play ended the game.
Peterson earned the win to improve to 4-4, while Kuhnke registered his fifth save of the season. Mikos took the loss to fall to 0-9 on the year, while Luke Zmolik struck out six over his four innings in relief.
Milwaukee rounds out non-league play on Tuesday afternoon against Northern Illinois. First pitch at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb is set for 3:00 p.m.
