Feb. 20, 2009 | Box Score

Guins Sluggish on Mound, Defense in Opening Loss at Georgia

    Athens, Ga. -- Georgia posted 17 hits and scored the final nine runs of the game to defeat Youngstown State 15-2 in front of an opening-day record 3,044 fans at Foley Field on Friday in the season-opener for both teams.
    The Penguins helped out the Bulldogs with seven errors and 10 issued walks by five different pitchers. Two errors and three walks occurred after there were two outs and no runners on base in the sixth with the Penguins trailing 6-2.
    Georgia went on to score six runs in the seventh and one in the eighth for the final 15-2 score.
    John Koehnlein and Eric Hymel had two hits apiece at the top of the order for YSU. Hymel added a run scored and an RBI.
    Bryce Massanari went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and Colby May hit a two-run home run to lead Georgia, which started five freshmen for the first time in school history.
    YSU's Aaron Swenson was charged with the loss, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings. The junior reigning Horizon League Pitcher of the Year struck out six and walked two.
    Senior right-hander Trevor Holder earned the victory for Georgia, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six in 5.1 innings.
    "I'm disappointed with our performance tonight," YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. "I've been talking about how our defense was improved and how we would be mentally tougher on the mound. We were the exact opposite in both areas. I expect more from this team tomorrow and the rest of the season."

    Swenson struck out three of the first four hitters he faced before back-to-back doubles put the Bulldogs on the board in the first. Massanari doubled down the right-field line for the game's first hit, and Joe Lewis followed with an RBI two-bagger just inside the left-field line.
    Freshman May's two-run home run in the third put the Bulldogs up three, and Georgia scored one in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead on Swenson.
    The Penguins stranded runners at the corners in the third and lined into an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
    YSU made a dent into the lead off Holder in the sixth with two runs on three hits. David Leon hit a leadoff double, and he scored two batters later on newcomer Hymel's triple to right. Reliever Cecil Tanner came on to bean Joe Iacobucci, and Greg Dissinger followed with an RBI single to left that made the score 6-2.
    The Penguins still had runners on first and second with one out  in the sixth when Tanner got Anthony Porter to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
    Georgia took advantage of some mistakes in the bottom of the sixth and scored two runs on two errors and three walks.Trent Wood retired the first two batters of the inning before walking Massanari. Lewis then reached on an error by shortstop Jacke Healey, Chase Davidson walked and two runners scored on Zach Cone's single to center to put the Bulldogs up 8-2.
    Georgia then plated six runs in the seventh and another in the eighth for the final tally.
    Holder was a Second-Team All-SEC honoree and a 10th-round draft pick of the Florida Marlins in 2008. He is considered the 92nd-best college prospect by Baseball America.
    YSU finished with eight hits, which is five more than it had in last season's 14-0 loss at Georgia Tech.
    The Penguins and Bulldogs will play game two of the three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m.