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Rochester, Mich. \u2013 The Youngstown State softball team used another late-inning comeback to win an 11-10 slugfest over Oakland on Saturday afternoon at the Oakland Softball Field. The Penguins dropped the nightcap, 6-3.<\/p>\n
Youngstown State, who is the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2026 Horizon League Championship, improves to 31-18 and 14-4 in league play. Oakland moves to 25-22 overall and 9-9 in the league action.<\/p>\n
The Penguins cranked out 16 hits, and six different players recorded multiple hits in the opener.<\/p>\n
Junior Tai Turner<\/a> led the Penguins going 4-for-5 with two runs scored while freshman Naomi Bottomlee<\/a> went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Sophomore leadoff hitter Bella Meyer<\/a> was 2-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in and senior Kennedy Dean<\/a>, sophomore Ayla Ray<\/a> and freshman Leila Staszak<\/a> each posted two hits.<\/p>\n The Penguins, who trailed by as many as five runs, erupted for five runs in the top of the seventh inning to overtake the Golden Grizzlies. Tai Turner<\/a>, who led off the frame with a single, scored on what was called a fielding error, and Selah Moyer’s<\/a> base-loaded, run-scoring double plated Dean to get the Penguins within two, 10-8. Ray scored on Meyer’s sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk to Emma Gilkerson<\/a> scored pinch-runner Tatum Werley<\/a> with the game-tying run. Turner’s bases-loaded infield single drove in Bree Kohler<\/a> with the go-ahead run.<\/p>\n