Penguins Bats Lead to Sweep of St. Bonaventure

by YSU

Thursday, Mar 24, 2016 7:19 pm

St. Bonaventure, N.Y. -- Youngstown State cranked out a total of 25 hits and the Penguins softball team swept a doubleheader from St. Bonaventure, 12-4, and 9-5, on Wednesday afternoon at Joyce Field.

With the sweep, the Penguins improve to 10-11 overall and have won three straight games. St. Bonaventure falls to 3-13.

In the opener, the used a 15-hit attack en route to a 12-4 win. Senior Miranda Castiglione went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBIs. Sophomore Cali Mikovich went 3-for-5 with a home run and drove in three runs. Junior Sarah Dowd and senior Katie Smallcomb each had two hits.

The Penguins used a six-run seventh inning to expand a tight 6-4 lead into an insurmountable 12-4 lead. In the inning, Dowd drove in a pair of runs with a double to right-center field, Mikovich drilled a run-scoring single to right field and Castiglione belted a three-run blast to right field to seal the victory.

Freshman Paige Geanangel picked up her third win of the season striking out three in four innings.

In the nightcap, a nine-run second inning was all the Penguins needed in the 9-5 win. Sophomore Stevie Taylor went 3-for-3 with two runs batted in to lead the Youngstown State offense, which collected 10 hits.

Junior Alexandria Gibson posted two hits and Mikovich belted a grand slam in the second inning to spark the Penguins offense.

Junior Caitlyn Minney pitched 4.2 innings of relief and struck out five to earn her seventh win of the season.

The Penguins open Horizon League play against Valparaiso in a three-game series, March 25-26, at the YSU Softball Field. First pitch on Friday is at 3 p.m.