Friday, April 29
Fort Wayne, IN
3 pm
Youngstown State University
at
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Purdue Fort Wayne
Photo by: Robert Hayes
Softball Visits Purdue Fort Wayne For Three-Game Series
4/28/2022 4:15:00 PM | Softball
| YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT PURDUE FORT WAYNE | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday, April 29 | 3 p.m. |
| Opponent | at Purdue Fort Wayne | Live Stats | Video |
| Date & Time | Saturday, April 30 | 12 p.m. | 2 p.m. |
| Opponent | at Purdue Fort Wayne | Game 1 - Live Stats | Video | Game 2 - Live Stats | Video |
| Live Tweets | @YSUSoftball | @YSUSports |
| Hash Tags | #GoGuins | #HLSB |
| Mobile App | YSU Front Row |
The First Pitch
• The Youngstown State softball team (26-22, 11-9 Horizon League) returns to action this weekend when it visits Purdue Fort Wayne (7-36, 6-14 Horizon League) in a three-game series, April 29-30.
• First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m. while Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 12 p.m. start.
Last Time Out
• The Penguins dropped a doubleheader to Oakland, 1-0, and 3-1 on April 26.
Up Next
• Youngstown State closes out the regular season with a three-game series at Robert Morris on May 6-7 in Moon Township, Pa.
Hold Late Leads
• When the Penguins get past the fourth inning, there's a good chance they will hold on for the win.
• YSU is 20-1 when leading after four innings, 22-2 when leading after five, and 22-1 when leading after six innings.
Home Sweet Home
• Since the Penguins began playing their home games at the YSU Softball Field in 2014 they have found a lot of success in their home ballpark.
• Since 2014, Youngstown State owns a record of 101-57 for a .639 winning percentage in games played at the YSU Softball Field.
• The Penguins have also played well hosting league foes during the same span.
• Youngstown State has a 69-36 mark (.657) Horizon League games played at the YSU Softball Field.
• Youngstown State went 18-4 against league foes in 2021 and had won 14 straight regular-season home league games, dating back to last season, before the losses to IUPUI.
Campbell Nets Career Win 600
• Head Coach Brian Campbell picked up the 600th win of his career after the Penguins' 3-1 win over St. Bonaventure on April 13.
• With the Penguins' 2-1 over Hampton on Feb. 25, Head Coach Brian Campbell picked up his 300th win at Youngstown State and now has 317 with the Penguins.
• Campbell is the school's all-time wins leader and now has 603 for his career.
• He owns a career record of 606-482-2 and a 321-353-1 mark at YSU.
• Over the last five full seasons (2016-19, 2021), the Penguins have averaged 29.4 wins per season.
• Campbell has also been named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2021.
• During his time, he has coached 34 All-Horizon League picks, four freshmen/newcomers of the year, two pitchers of the year, two players of the year, and seven National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selections.
Turner Is Extra
• Junior Megan Turner has a penchant for extra bases.
• Turner leads the Penguins with 10 home runs, seven home runs and a .515 slugging percentage.
• She ranks third in the Horizon League in doubles, fourth in RBIs and home runs and ninth in slugging percentage.
Romero All-Time Hits Record
• Senior Yazmine Romero became the sixth player in school history to collect at least 200 career hits and became YSU's all-time hits leader by collecting her 234th career hit against Northern Kentucky on April 15.
• She now has 240 career hits.
• Romero is nine hits shy of becoming the fifth player in school history to reach 70 and needs 12 more to break the single-season hits record of 72 set by Haley Thomas in 2012
• With five hits in a doubleheader sweep of St. Bonaventure on April 13, Romero tied the YSU all-time hits record of 233 set by Thomas from 2009-12.
• Romero set the YSU freshman hits record with 66 in 2018.
Buffenbarger Notches 700 Strikeouts
• Fifth-year senior Elle Buffenbarger became Youngstown State's all-time strikeout leader when she broke the record of 565 set by Casey Crozier from 2011-14.
• Buffenbarger now has 713 career strikeouts and became the first player in YSU history and just the fifth player in Horizon League history to record 700 career strikeouts.
Saibene Ties RBI Record
• Senior Nikki Saibene tied the YSU all-time RBI record of 130 set by Sarah Dowd from 2014-17 with a run-scoring double in the Penguins 5-2 win over Green Bay on April 23.
• This year, 16 of her 19 runs batted in have come with two outs.
• Last season, Saibene tied the single-season mark of 49 set by Miranda Castiglione in 2016.
If You Can Dodge a Wrench
• Senior Alex DeLeon has a penchant for getting beamed.
• The 2021 second-team All-Horizon League selection has been hit by pitches 18 times this season.
• For her career, DeLeon has been hit 53 times.
• Nikki Saibene has been hit 12 times this season.
• In comparison, Purdue Fort Wayne has been hit a total of 19 times as a team.
Saibene Snapshot
• Ranks tied for first all-time with 130 career runs batted in.
• Ranks fourth in school history with 27 career home runs and needs 11 more to break the school record of 37.
• Named NFCA Midwest All-Region First-Team 2021.
• 2021 All-Horizon League First-Team
Buffenbarger at a Glance
• YSU's career strikeout leader with 713.
• Ranks second all-time with 59 career wins.
• 2021 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and All-Horizon League First-Team.
• 2021 NFCA Midwest All-Region Third-Team.
• Only pitcher in school history to posted 20 wins with at least 200 (212) strikeouts in season.
• Led the Horizon League in wins, strikeouts, opponents' batting average, shutouts, and starts, was second with 19 complete games, and fourth in ERA.
• Had nine games with at least 10 strikeouts.
• Her 20 wins and 212 strikeouts both rank second on the YSU single-season list.
2021 All-Horizon League Picks
• Youngstown State had several returners earn Horizon League postseason awards last season.
• Head Coach Brian Campbell - Coach of the Year
• Elle Buffenbarger - Pitcher of the Year, All-Horizon League First-Team
• Jillian Jakse - Freshman of the Year, All-Horizon League First-Team, All-Freshman Team
• Nikki Saibene - All-Horizon League First-Team
• Maddi Lusk - All-Horizon League Second-Team (2017 & 2018 Second-Team selection, 2017 Co-Freshman of the Year)* - lost to graduation
• Alex DeLeon - All-Horizon League Second-Team
• Hailey Niederkohr - All-Freshman Team
Penguins Predicted Second in Horizon League
• The Youngstown State softball team has been predicted to finish second in the 2022 Horizon League Softball Preseason Poll after a vote of the league's head coaches.
• The Penguins garnered five first-place votes, the most of any school, and finished with 81 points. Youngstown State, who won the 2021 regular-season championship, ran away with the league title after posting a 28-8 record and a 36-15 overall mark.
• Oakland, who was picked as the preseason favorite, tallied 82 points and two first-place votes.
• UIC, the 2021 Horizon League Tournament Champions, was picked third with 74 points and a pair of first-place votes.
• Roberts Morris was picked fourth with 62 points while Green Bay (49 points), Northern Kentucky (39) and IUPUI (32) were voted fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively.
• Detroit Mercy (29), Cleveland State (25) and Purdue Fort Wayne (22) round out the final three slots.
2022 #HLSB Preseason Poll
Pl. Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
1. Oakland – 82 (2)
2. Youngstown State – 81 (5)
3. UIC – 74 (2)
4. RMU – 62
5. Green Bay – 49
6. Northern Kentucky – 39
7. IUPUI – 32
8. Detroit Mercy – 29
9. Cleveland State – 25
10. Purdue Fort Wayne – 22
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Players Mentioned
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INF/P
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UT
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OF
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INF
/ SoftballSaturday, April 18
Thursday, April 09
Thursday, April 09
Tuesday, April 07
