TOWSON, Md. ? Junior catcher Max Kelly's walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Tigers (4-6) to an 8-7 come-from-behind victory and a sweep of their non-conference doubleheader over Youngstown State University (2-5) in the Tigers' home opener at unseasonably warm John B. Schuerholz Park on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers won the opener, 6-5.
Playing their opener in 75-degree weather, the Tigers took the field only five days after a five-inch snowstorm forced cancellation of their scheduled opener against Maryland.
En route to the doubleheader sweep, the Tigers used very different routes to sweeping a pair of one-run games. In the opener, the Tigers built a 6-2 lead and had to hold on for the win. In the nightcap, the Tigers had to overcome a 7-3 deficit in the final two innings to pull out a victory.
In the first inning of the opener, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead with the help of two walks by Youngstown righthander Phil Klein. With one out, junior centerfielder Kevin Collins drew a walk. After junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky flew out to centerfield, senior catcher Jason Stifler walked. When senior first baseman Matt Collins singled to rightfield, Kevin Collins came around to score the first run of the game.
The Tigers extended their lead in the fourth inning without the benefit of a base hit. Stifler and Matt Collins led off the inning by drawing back-to-back walks. Klein appeared to have escaped the jam when sophomore shortstop Chris Wychock grounded into a double play as Stifler moved to third base. However, moments later, Stifler scored on a wild pitch to give Towson a 2-0 lead.
On the first pitch of the fifth inning, junior rightfielder Eric Marzec of Youngstown belted his first home run of the season to left centerfield, cutting the Penguins' deficit to 2-1.
The Tigers extended their lead to 6-1 in the sixth inning with a four-run rally that knocked Klein out of the game. Kevin Collins started the rally with a single to right and Yarsinsky reached base by drawing a walk. While Stifler was striking out, Collins and Yarsinsky pulled off a double steal. That set the stage for Matt Collins, who drove in both runners with a single to centerfield. Senior leftfielder Aaron Gabrielian capped off the rally when he blasted a two-run homer to rightfield, putting Towson ahead by 6-1.
In the eighth inning, the Penguins cut their deficit to 6-2 when leftfielder John Koehnlein led off with a double and scored on an infield error by the Tigers.
Trailing by 6-2 entering the ninth inning, the Penguins made a strong bid to tie the game. Facing freshman righthander Jeff Randolph, pinch hitter Tom Clayton doubled off the centerfield fence to lead off the inning. When Marzec was hit by a pitch, the Penguins had two runners on base. After Randolph retired catcher Anthony Porter on a fly ball to left, third baseman C.J. Morris singled down the leftfield line as Clayton came around to score. When Morris tried to stretch his hit into a double, Yarsinsky made a throwing error that allowed Marzec to score and cut the deficit to 6-4.
Senior righthander Josh Squatrito was called in to relieve at that point. Pinch hitter Derek Cox greeted him with an RBI double down the leftfield line to make it a 6-5 game and put the tying run on second base. Koehnlein kept the rally alive with an infield single that put runners at first and third base with one out.
But, Squatrito got second baseman Brian Solitario to hit a ground ball to senior second baseman Gary Helmick, who teamed up with Wychock to turn a nifty game-ending double play as the Tigers held on for a 6-5 win.
Junior righthander Zach Umberger earned his first win of the season by pitching five innings and allowing one run on three hits. Squatrito picked up his first save of the season and the 11th save of his career.
Matt Collins, who extended his hitting streak to nine games, led the Tigers with two hits and three runs batted in. Youngstown outhit Towson by 9-5 in the opener.
In the nightcap, Wychock gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead when he led off the second inning with a solo home run over the left field fence. It was his third home run of the season.
The Penguins, who hit only one home run in their first five games of the season, erupted for three homers in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore second baseman David Leon opened the inning with a solo homer to rightfield, tying the game at 1-1. When Marzec followed with a home run down the rightfield line, the Penguins owned a 2-1 lead. With one out, Porter lasted an opposite field homer down the left field line to give Youngstown a 3-1 advantage.
After Porter's home run, Tiger pitcher Spencer Patton was forced to leave the game with an injury.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Tigers cut their deficit to 3-2 when Kevin Collins and Stifler drew walks and pulled off a double steal.
However, freshman righthander Sean Bertrand and sophomore righthander Charlie Cononie of Towson struggled with control problems in the fourth inning as the Penguins scored three runs without a hit. Bertrand walked the first three batters he faced to load the bases with no outs. Then, Cononie came in from the bullpen and walked the first three batters he faced, forcing in three runs for a 6-2 Youngstown lead.
The Tigers started their comeback in the fifth inning when Helmick tripled and came around to score on a double by Yarsinsky. However, junior righthander Aaron Swenson pitched out of the inning when he got Stifler to fly out to right, ending the inning.
Cononie, who settled down after walking three batters in a row in the fourth inning, gave up a leadoff homer to junior shortstop Jacke Healey in the sixth inning, giving the Penguins a 7-3 advantage.
In the last of the sixth inning, the Tigers put together a rally that cut the Penguins' lead to 7-6. A leadoff single by Matt Collins, a double by Wychock and a walk to Gabrielian loaded the bases wih no outs, knocking Swenson from the game. Junior righthander Anthony Munoz came in to pitch in relief and allowed an RBI single to sophomore rightfielder Austin Harclerode, cutting the lead to 7-4. When Kelly grounded out to third base, Wychcock scored to make it 7-5. Gabrielian scored from third base when Helmick grounded into a force play to cut the lead to 7-6. Munoz retired Kevin Collins on a ground ball to first base, ending the threat.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning of the scheduled seven-inning game, the Tigers trailed by a run. But, the deficit didn't last long as Yarsinsky cracked a long home run to rightfield on the first pitch of the inning, tying the game at 7-7. It was Yarsinsky's third hit of the game and his second homer of the season.
Stifler followed the game-tying homer with a single to left field. Matt Collins grounded into a force play as Stifler was out at second base. Munoz nearly pitched out of the inning when he retired Wychock on a fly ball to centerfield. But, Gabrielian kept the rally going when he lined a single down the rightfield line as Collins advanced to third base. When Harclerode drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, the Tigers had the bases loaded for Kelly.
On a 1-1 pitch, Kelly lined a single to centerfield for his first hit of the season as he delivered the game-winning run.
Cononie earned his first win of the season by pitching four innings of two-hit relief. He allowed one run while walking five batters and striking out three.
Matt Collins led the Tigers in the doubleheader sweep as he went 3-for-7 with three runs scored and three runs batted in. He now has a ten-game hitting streak.
Towson and Youngstown close out their three-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
