Pittsburgh, Pa. -- Youngstown State senior pitcher Phil Klein allowed one run on three hits in eight innings, and the heart of the Penguins' line-up drove in five runs in a 7-1 win over Toledo in the final game for both teams at the Petersen Sports Complex Panther Classic on Sunday.
Klein didn't allow a hit or a run until the sixth inning and struck out a career-high 13 in the game. Chris Dudics broke up the no-hit bid with a one out triple to center in the sixth, and Jacob North stopped the shutout one batter later with an RBI ground out. The senior right-hander allowed two harmless one-out singles in the eighth.
On the offensive end, clean-up batter Joe Iacobucci drove in two runs and scored twice, reaching base five times with three hits and two walks. No. 5 hitter Jonathan Crist drove in two runs, and No. 3 hitter Jeremy Banks had two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
"Phil was dominant today," YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. "He trusted his stuff, and he pounded the zone. Coach Lipari also called a great game."
"Offensively, it was nice getting Iacobucci and Banks going in the same game. We moved the baseball to advance runners, and we played good defense. That's what we want Penguin baseball to be."
YSU gave Klein the lead early with an unearned run in the first. Drew Dosch and Banks both reached on errors to put runners at the corners, and Crist brought in Dosch with a sacrifice fly to right.
The Penguins then gave Klein a 4-0 lead when they tacked on three runs in the third. Banks singled in David Leon and later scored on another Crist sacrifice fly. Three consecutive walks forced in Iacobucci from third for the third run of the inning.
After Toledo made the score 4-1 in the sixth, YSU got the run back in the bottom of the seventh. Iacobucci hit a leadoff triple to right center, and Armani Johnson brought him in with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly. The Penguins added two more in the eighth on Iacobucci's two-run double with the bases loaded.
Freshman reliever Nic Manuppelli threw a scoreless ninth for YSU, which also beat Toledo 4-3 on Friday.
Youngstown State is scheduled to play its home opener on Wednesday at Eastwood Field. First pitch against Penn State-Behrend is set for 3 p.m. Check YSUsports.com regularly for weather-related updates.
