Outfielder Kendall Schlabach burst on the scene as a freshman and was a mainstay in centerfield for the Penguins for four years. He became the first Penguin in school history to earn all-conference honors in all four years with the program earning first-team honors twice and second-team accolades on two occasions.
Schlabach ended his YSU career as the school-record holder in hits (265), runs scored (161), at bats (763) and games played (208). He ranked in the top four in walks (104), stolen bases (53) and doubles (42).
As a freshman in 2001, Schlabach had a season to remember. For his efforts he was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and earned first-team All-Mid-Continent Conference honors.
He batted .406 and started 54 of 55 games during the year. He had a career-best 80 hits in 197 at bats while scoring a career-high 50 runs. He had a career-high 19 steals and drove in 25 runs.
He had a hit in 45 games during his first year and closed out the season with a 4-for-5 effort against Valparaiso. He had 27 multiple hit games, 13 multi-run contests and five multi-RBI games. Against IUPUI on April 21, he scored four runs, and on seven occasions he had three hits in a game. Fourteen games into his freshman season he had a .564 average and on April 10, he was batting an impressive .495.
His sophomore year, the Penguins moved into the Horizon League and he continued his hot hitting. For the year he hit .367, but at one point his averaged had dipped to .288. He responded by having at least one hit in 22 of the next 23 games and raised his average to .388 in early May after a 12-game hitting streak. He was a first-team All-Horizon League honoree for his efforts.
In 2002, he posted 61 hits, 33 runs, 26 RBIs, 80 total bases, 10 doubles, three triples and a career-high .482 slugging percentage. The Guins only played 44 games on the campaign. He had 21 multiple-hit games, seven multi-run contests and seven multi-RBI games during the season.
As a junior, Schlabach again hit above .300 with 62 hits in a career-high 202 at bats for a .307 average. He opened the year hot batting .375 after the first 17 games. At one point during that run, he had a hit in 14 of 15 games. He was a second-team All-Horizon League pick that year.
In 2003, he had 62 hits, scored 37 runs, walked 33 times, drove in 26 runs, stole 13 bases and had a career-high 12 doubles. He had 18 multiple-hit contests, eight multi-run games and drove in two runs in six contests.
The Penguins advanced to the NCAA Division I Regional for first time in school history during his senior year in 2004. He had five hits in the Horizon League Tournament as the Penguins won all four games to win their first-ever Division I conference title. In his final collegiate game, he had three hits in five at bats and had an RBI against TCU at the Austin Regional.
In his final season, he had 62 hits in 198 at bats for a .313 batting average. After a slow start to the season, his average rose to as high as .346 in mid-April, and he was batting .340 in early May. He had 19 multiple-hit games and 10 multi-run games during the campaign. He scored 41 runs, walked 33 times, had 12 RBIs, 11 doubles and nine stolen bases in his final year.
He earned his degree in Middle Childhood Education from YSU and works as a Project Manager for Eurocase.
Prior to coming to Youngstown, he was a two-sport standout at Hiland High School in Berlin, Ohio. On the diamond, he was a first-team All-Ohio selection and in basketball was a two-time second-team All-Ohio honoree.
Kendall and his wife, Leslie, have a daughter, Kenlie. The family resides in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
