Softball Season In Review
5/19/2022 12:22:00 PM | Softball
The Youngstown State softball team recently concluded another successful campaign that saw several milestones, accomplishments and broken records. The Penguins finished third in the Horizon League with a 17-9 record and won at least 30 games for the sixth time in program history with a 32-24 overall mark.
2022 Team and Individual Highlights
2022 Team and Individual Highlights
- The Penguins' 32 victories are the third most in school history and mark the fifth time under Head Coach Brian Campbell that YSU has won at least 30 games in a season.
- Youngstown State won at least 30 games in consecutive seasons for just the second time in school history. Last season, the Penguins tied a school record with 36 wins. The last time YSU won at least 30 games in back-to-back seasons was in 2016 and 2017.
- Youngstown State's 17 league wins are tied for the second-most in school history and mark the sixth straight year the Penguins have won at least 13 conference games.
- Coach Campbell reached a pair of coaching milestones this season earning his 300th win at Youngstown State and the 600th win of his 22-year career. He recorded his 600th career win in a 3-1 win over St. Bonaventure on April 13, 2022. He also won his 300th game at Youngstown State after a 2-1 victory over Hampton on Feb. 25, 2022.
- Senior Elle Buffenbarger broke three pitching records this season after going 21-10 with 224 strikeouts. Her 224 strikeouts set the single-season mark, and she set the YSU career records with 63 wins and 744 strikeouts. She also ranks fifth all-time in Horizon League history in career strikeouts and tied for ninth all-time in victories
- Buffenbarger broke the career strikeout record with her 566th against Hampton on Feb. 25 while set broke the career wins record with her 61st on April 30 against Purdue Fort Wayne. She also recorded her second-career no-hitter against the Mastodons.
- She also was named All-Horizon League Second-Team, which marks the third time in her career she earned all-league honors. Buffenbarger is also just the first player in school history to record consecutive 20-win, 200-strikeout campaigns. Last season, she went 20-4 with 212 strikeouts.
- Senior Yazmine Romero broke the YSU career hits record against Northern Kentucky on April 15 with the 234th of her career. She set the record at 250 and became the first player in school history and just the ninth in Horizon League history to collect at least 250 hits.
- Romero led the league with 71 hits, which rank second on the YSU single-season list, and ranked third in batting average at .362 and tied for fourth with 32 runs scored.
- Senior Nikki Saibene broke the school's all-time RBI record with the 131st of her career in 4-2 win over Robert Morris on May 7. She also had two home runs this season and ranks fourth in school history with 27.
- Freshman Bree Kohler was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team after batting .326 against Horizon League foes.
- Juniors Conchetta Rinaldi and Megan Turner became a power-hitting due for the Penguins combining for 21 doubles and 14 home runs. Turner led the team and ranked fourth in the Horizon League with 11 doubles and eight home runs. Rinaldi cranked six home runs and had 10 doubles. Rinaldi led the Penguins and ranked third in the league with 32 runs batted in. Turner was sixth in the league with 28 RBIs while junior Avrey Schumacher also ranked tied for sixth with 28 runs batted in.
- Sophomore Sophie Howell impressed in the circle with seven victories, 98 strikeouts and a 2.28 earned-run average, which ranked third in the Horizon League. Over her last 10 appearances, Howell went 5-4 with a 1.24 ERA, her first career shutout, seven complete games, and 50 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.
Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballSaturday, April 18
Thursday, April 09
Thursday, April 09
Tuesday, April 07
