Bulldogs Split Twinbill At Youngstown State
April 29, 2006
Catcher Joe Dempsey slammed his eighth home run of the season and sophomore Brian Deter pitched a complete game to help Butler to a 5-1 victory over Youngstown State and a split in a Horizon League doubleheader at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio, on Saturday, April 29. The host Penguins captured the opener, 10-4, behind a 15-hit attack.
Dempsey sparked the decisive third-inning rally in the second game and provided the game-winner with a two-run shot over the left field wall. The round-tripper lifted him into a tie with junior Tony Barnes for the team lead in home runs. Dempsey also drove in a run with a single in the fifth inning.
The early 3-0 lead was all Deter (4-4) needed. The Butler righthander allowed just seven hits and one earned run, while posting his first complete game of the season. He had four strikeouts and no walks in the nine-inning contest.
Senior Jeff Brown led Butler's 11-hit attack with three hits and two runs scored. Dempsey, shortstop Joe Pauley and designated hitter Kyle McLaughlin each added a pair of hits in the game.
The Penguins (18-25, 9-11 Horizon League) jumped to a 9-1 lead in the opener and coasted home with the victory behind strong pitching performances from Lucas Engle and Ryan Sellman. Engle (4-3) threw eight innings, allowing three runs, before Sellman closed out the final frame. The two Youngstown State pitchers combined for six strikeouts.
Josh Page led off the game with a home run for Youngstown State and the home squad never trailed after that opening blow. Butler did tie the game in the fourth inning when Barnes drove in Stephen Gill with a ground out, but the Penguins answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and five runs in the fifth.
Barnes drove in two of Butler's four runs, while Gill led the Bulldogs (16-26, 9-14 Horizon League) with two hits. Sophomore Bryan Bokowy (3-3), who pitched the first four and two-thirds innings for the Bulldogs, took the loss in the contest.
Butler will close out its three-game series at Youngstown State on Sunday, April 30, with a single game at 1 p.m.
