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UNLEASH THE GRIZZ

Oakland University Athletics

Scoreboard

bsb
1
Youngstown State YSU 3-18, 2-3 Horizon
14
Winner Oakland OAK 8-14, 1-4 Horizon
Youngstown State YSU
3-18, 2-3 Horizon
1
Final
14
Oakland OAK
8-14, 1-4 Horizon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Youngstown State YSU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 5
Oakland OAK 0 0 0 7 1 6 X 14 7 2

W: Fekete, Sean (2-4) L: ULRICH, S. (0-5)

3
Youngstown State YSU 3-19, 2-4 Horizon
13
Winner Oakland OAK 9-14, 2-4 Horizon
Youngstown State YSU
3-19, 2-4 Horizon
3
Final
13
Oakland OAK
9-14, 2-4 Horizon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Youngstown State YSU 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 9 3
Oakland OAK 2 0 3 3 0 4 1 13 12 2

W: Decker, Brandon (2-3) L: MIKOS, B. (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Jordan Nelson

Golden Grizzlies Dominate Final YSU Series; Score 27 Runs in Two Games

NILES, Oh. - The Golden Grizzlies finished the weekend on a high note as they went 2-0 in a Sunday set of games to close out their series against Youngstown State.

GAME 1

The Penguins opened up the scoring in the top of the first inning after a one out single by Brett Stanley turned into a free base after a pickoff error by Oakland, putting a runner in scoring position right off the bat. After a forced groundout by Oakland pitcher Sean Fekete, the Penguins knocked an RBI single up the middle to earn a 1-0 lead in the opening inning.

Looking to even the score, Oakland started the bottom of the second inning with a leadoff single by John Lauinger. The next at-bat Brandol Heidal was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with no outs for the Golden Grizzlies. Given the sign to go, Lauinger sprinted towards third to steal the base and move closer to scoring, but was thrown out on the attempt. Oakland flew out for the final outs of the inning, keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of Youngstown.

Oakland had another prime chance to knot the game in the bottom of the third inning. Sam Griffith reached on a leadoff walk to start the inning, followed by a Reggie Bussey grounding into a fielder's choice. Trent Rice singled to second base, putting men on first and second, but in the following at-bat Brandon Night grounded into the second fielder's choice of the inning, keeping the runners shy of home with two outs. The Golden Grizzlies struck out to end the inning, still trailing 1-0.

They would final break their runless spell in the bottom of the fourth inning as Lauinger reached base for the second time on a walk, followed by back-to-back hit by pitches drawn to load the bases. With no outs. The Penguins pitcher, Sloan Ulrich, continued to struggle with pitch location, hitting another batter as Sean Griffith hit a hard grounder, reaching on a fielder's choice, but not before bringing around Oakland's first run of the game to tie the affair at one run apiece.

The Golden Grizzlies weren't done there. With runners on the corners, Reggie Bussey singled up the middle, bringing home the go-ahead run to take the 2-1 lead. The onslaught continued as Rice reached on a YSU throwing error, followed by a bases clearing double by Brandon Nigh, scoring all three base runners as Oakland's lead ballooned to 4-1. Nigh would reach third base on a throw to the plate, where he was able to stroll home on a YSU balk, adding another run to Oakland's big inning with the lead now marking 5-1. The unfolding of Youngstown continued in the inning as a wild pitch resulted in Lucas Day, who earlier reached on a walk, and Nigh scored on the play with the lead now 7-1.

Another run was added to the lead in the fifth inning as a walk to Ian Cleary, followed by a pair of wild pitches, escorted Cleary across the plate to move the score to 8-1.

It would only take one inning for Oakland to pile on even more runs as Day hammered a three run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, boosting the Oakland lead to 11-1. The Penguins changed pitchers, putting Gavin Wilms on the mound, but it made little difference as Sam Griffith hit a two RBI single to up the Golden Grizzlies' run count to 13. They would finish off the inning with one more run as Lux scored on a Bussey ground out as Oakland led 14-1.

The huge fourth and sixth innings were enough to secure an Oakland victory, knotting the series win total. The 13-point margin of victory is Oakland's second largest win of the season, most against a Division I opponent.

Rice was the lone Oakland player with multiple hits, going 2-4 from the plate. Four Oakland players registered multiple RBIs, including Bussey (2), Nigh (3), Day (3), and Sam Griffith (3). Sean Fekete earned the win on the mound, pitching five innings, allowing four hits and no earned runs.

GAME 2

The Golden Grizzlies started off behind in game number two of Sunday's double header. The leadoff batter, Trey Law,  reached first base on a dropped third strike, followed by a single from Stanley. The next batter, Alejandro Covas, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Law scored on the play to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead to start the game.

Just like in game one of the day, Oakland didn't stay down for long, responding as Day slammed a two-out RBI double to left center field, bringing Nigh across the plate to even the score at one. Lauinger continued his big day as well, slicing a RBI single to left field, bringing around Day to give Oakland the 2-1 advantage in their first time around the order.

The lead soon grew as Oakland scored a run in three straight innings to start the game after Lauinger tallied RBI number two with a two-out single to opposite field in the bottom of the third inning. Heidal continued the Golden Grizzlies' two-out momentum as he hit a zinger to right field, bringing Lauinger home and extending the lead to 4-1 as Oakland continued to impose their will at the plate. Carter Hain earned his first hit and RBI of the day during the two-out rally, sending a rocket towards the mound that YSU was unable to field cleanly, granting Hain the infield single and keeping Oakland's big inning alive as another run scored, pushing the lead to 5-1.

While Oakland's bats were buzzing, Brandon Decker was also dealing on the mound. The senior pitcher bounced back after giving up a run in the first inning, following with three consecutive scoreless innings while tossing five strikeouts.

The Golden Grizzlies continued to show a repeat of their dominant early day game, scoring another run as Nigh flew out to center field, allowing Bussey to advance from second to third base where he would sneak home on a Penguins throwing error, upping the Oakland tally to six runs. Day reached base for the second time of the game, singling to right field with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Lauinger earned his third hit in three plate appearances, striking an RBI double to left field as Oakland led now 7-1. THe Golden Grizzlies would tack on one last run in the fourth, drawing back-to-back hit by pitches to walk home a run as their lead crept up to 8-1.

The Penguins tacked on another run on the board to begin the fifth inning after a double by Law scored the second run of the game for YSU. Alejandro Covas followed with a two-out RBI single as the deficit shrank just a little as Oakland led 8-3 with just over two innings left to play.

Oakland put their finishing touches on the day as they used a pair of walks and an Aidan Orr RBI single to go up 9-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a Carter Hain walk, Sam 
Griffith batted in another run with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 10-3. The runs continued to pile on as a Bussey groundout resulted in another run being scored, while Cleary did the same as Oakland ended the inning with a 12-3 lead, ultimately sealing the game, ultimately winning 13-3 after adding another run int he bottom of the seventh inning.

Another electric game at the plate for Oakland to end the series, highlighted by Lauinger's 3-4, three RBI game. Day also finished 2-5 while six other Golden Grizzlies collected hits over the game. Their combination of speed and power was too much for YSU as Oakland stole nine bases on the day, seven in the second game of the double header.

Oakland leaves their series against the Penguins with a 2-1 lead and two of their biggest games offensively of the season. They look to keep this momentum swinging as they hit the road for a midweek matchup against Michigan State on Wednesday, Mar. 27.
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