Baseball Back in Action Friday to Begin Four-Game Series at Memphis

Friday, February 24

Memphis, TN

8 p.m.

Youngstown State University

Memphis

Photo by: Robert Hayes

Baseball Back in Action Friday to Begin Four-Game Series at Memphis

2/22/2023 12:47:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

Youngstown State at Memphis

Date	Location	TV	Radio	Live Stats
Friday Feb. 24 \| 7 PM ET	FedExPark Memphis, Tenn.	ESPN+	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Saturday Feb. 25 \| 1 PM ET	FedExPark Memphis, Tenn.	None	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Saturday Feb. 25 \| 4:30 PM ET	FedExPark Memphis, Tenn.	None	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Sunday Feb 26 \| 2 PM ET	FedExPark Memphis, Tenn.	None	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

Game Notes

Weekend Preview

The Youngstown State baseball team (0-4) will open a four-game series against Memphis (2-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at FedExPark in Memphis, Tenn. The Penguins and Tigers will proceed to play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. before finishing the series with a single game on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Live audio for all four games this weekend will be available at YSNLive.com while Friday's series opener will also be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
Fifth-year senior right-hander Travis Perry will take the mound for the Penguins in the series opener on Friday while junior right-hander Nick Perez is scheduled to start game one of Saturday's doubleheader. Sophomore right-hander Brandon Mikos is slated to start game two on Saturday while the starter for Sunday's series finale is to be announced.
The Penguins will be facing the Tigers for the first time in program history.
YSU lost two games to Illinois and two games to No. 5 Wake Forest on opening weekend at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C. Youngstown State leads the Horizon League and ranks 24th in the country with six home runs after opening weekend. The Penguins are also tied for the league lead with 44 total bases as a team. YSU ranks second in the Horizon League with 29 strikeouts as a pitching staff. The Penguins also pace the league with a .983 fielding percentage after opening weekend.
Senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy batted .467 and slugged .933 with seven hits including two home runs in 15 at bats over four games on opening weekend. He also recorded one double, four RBIs, one walk, four runs scored, a .500 on-base percentage, 14 total bases and one stolen base in one attempt. O'Shaughnessy leads the Horizon League with two home runs while ranking second with seven hits. He is also tied for the league lead with four runs scored while ranking third with four RBIs.
Freshmen Brandin Anderson, Aidan English, Braden Gebhardt, Cam Marshalwitz and Zach Stayduhar each made the first pitching appearances of their collegiate careers. Nick Perez set a new career high with seven strikeouts on Saturday while Kenny Misik posted new career bests of three strikeouts and two innings pitched on Sunday.
Senior right-hander Patrick Gumto and senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy were each named to Perfect Game's Horizon League Preseason All-Conference Team in the website's 2023 conference preview. O'Shaughnessy is coming off a stellar 2022 season that saw him earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors. The Poland, Ohio, native became just the second YSU infielder to earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors since 2013.
Senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy, senior outfielder Turner Grau, freshman left-hander Braden Gebhardt and freshman infielder Matt Thompson each earned preseason recognition from D1Baseball.com when the website released its Horizon League preview. O'Shaughnessy (No. 4) and Grau (No. 6) were each ranked among the website's top-10 MLB Draft prospects for 2023 while Gebhardt and Thompson were listed as top-five impact freshmen in the conference.
YSU was picked fourth in the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. Wright State was tabbed as the preseason favorite while Oakland was picked second and Milwaukee was selected third. Northern Kentucky came in at fifth while Purdue Fort Wayne was slotted sixth. The Penguins were picked to finish third by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and fifth by D1Baseball.com.

Previewing Memphis

A Win on Friday Would…

Give YSU its first victory of the 2023 season.
Snap a four-game losing streak.
Be YSU's first-ever win over Memphis.
Be the 336th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 107th at Youngstown State.

Scouting The Tigers

Memphis is 2-1 on the season after winning two of three games against Samford at FedExPark on opening weekend. The Tigers took the series opener 7-4 before defeating the Bulldogs 11-6 on Saturday. Samford earned a 9-8 victory in 11 innings in the series finale on Sunday. Memphis is scheduled to host Mississippi Valley State in a midweek contest on Wednesday before facing YSU over the weekend.
Senior outfielder Brayland Skinner is batting .417 and slugging 1.000 after recording five hits including four doubles and a home run in 12 at bats over three games on opening weekend. Sophomore infielder Jake Curtis is batting .385 while junior infielder Austin Baskin is batting .364 and slugging .727.
Freshman right-hander Seth Garner boasts a 1.59 ERA after allowing one run on three hits and striking out five over 5.2 innings in his start on opening weekend. Jake Curtis has a 1.93 ERA and one save after allowing one run on two hits in 4.2 innings over two relief appearances.
Memphis posted a 26-29 overall record and a 9-15 mark in American Athletic Conference play in 2022. The Tigers were picked eighth in 2023 AAC Preseason Poll. Memphis has 18 newcomers on its 2023 roster as well as 18 returners.
Senior left-hander Dalton Fowler returns to lead the pitching staff after going 3-3 with a 6.25 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 63.1 innings last season.
The Tigers are under the direction of first-year head coach Kerrick Jackson, who previously served as the head coach at Southern University from 2018-20.

Series History

Friday's series opener will mark the first meeting on the diamond between Youngstown State and Memphis.

Recapping Last Week

vs. Illinois - Friday, Feb. 17 // L 6-9

Youngstown State battled back from a six-run deficit to tie the game before falling 9-6 to Illinois in its 2023 season opener on Friday at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Fighting Illini scored six runs over the first three innings to build a 6-0 advantage before the Penguins exploded for six runs in the top of the sixth to even the score. Illinois answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull away for the victory in the season opener for both teams.
Braeden O'Shaughnessy went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored to pace the Penguins offensively. Steven D'Eusanio and Padraig O'Shaughnessy each recorded an RBI single, RJ Sherwood and Ian Francis each hit a solo home run and Matt Thompson and Andre Good each drove in a run.
YSU starter Travis Perry allowed six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts over five innings of work in a no-decision. Will Shaffer, who suffered the loss, was responsible for three runs over one third of an inning while Casey Marshalwitz worked two thirds of an inning. True freshman Braden Gebhardt did not allow a hit and struck out three batters over two scoreless innings of relief in his first collegiate action.

at Wake Forest - Friday, Feb. 17 // L 3-9

Youngstown State dropped a 9-3 decision to No. 6 Wake Forest on Friday in its second game on opening day at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Demon Deacons scored once in the first inning and six times in the second to open up a 7-0 lead. Wake Forest added single runs in the fourth and seventh to push its advantage to 9-0 before the Penguins plated three runs in the top of the eighth for the final margin.
Padraig O'Shaughnessy went 2-for-4 and drove in a run to lead the YSU offense while Braeden O'Shaughnessy and Steven D'Eusanio also had hits for the Penguins.
In his first collegiate start, Brandon Mikos allowed eight runs on six hits with four strikeouts and five walks over four innings in a losing effort. Brandin Anderson and Aidan English each tossed a scoreless inning of relief in their first-career appearances. Making his collegiate debut, Zach Stayduhar was responsible for one run on four hits while striking out a pair of batters over two innings of relief.

vs. Illinois - Saturday, Feb. 18 // L 5-10

Steven D'Eusanio and Braeden O'Shaughnessy each hit home runs as YSU fell 10-5 to Illinois on Saturday at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Fighting Illini got a three-run home run from Jacob Schroeder in the top of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie before adding five runs in the eighth to pull away.
D'Eusanio and Braeden O'Shaughnessy each hit their first home run of the 2023 season. D'Eusanio went 3-for-5 with a double and the 20th home run of his career. He became the 10th player in program history to reach 20 career homers.
Braeden O'Shaughnessy finished the game 2-for-4 with a single, a home run and a walk. Freshman Clay Wiesen went 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and a run scored in his first collegiate start. Wiesen singled in the first at bat of his career. Padraig O'Shaughnessy was 1-for-3 with a two-run double and a pair of walks.
YSU starter Nick Perez took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits and matching his career high with seven strikeouts over five innings. Perez recorded a strikeout in four different frames, and he struck out the side in the first inning.
Kenny Misik retired both the batters he faced in the sixth while Brandin Anderson struck out both hitters he faced. Braden Gebhardt was responsible for one run in two thirds of an inning while Patrick Gumto was charged with three runs on two hits in one third of an inning. Casey Marshalwitz tossed two thirds of an inning before his brother Cam Marshalwitz worked a scoreless ninth inning in his first collegiate appearance.

at Wake Forest - Sunday, Feb. 19 // L 3-18

Youngstown State dropped an 18-3 decision to No. 6 Wake Forest in its final game of opening weekend on Sunday at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Penguins scored three runs over the first two innings to take a 3-0 lead before the Demon Deacons scored once in the second and twice in the third to even score. Wake Forest then exploded for 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth to pull away for the seven-inning victory.
Braeden O'Shaughnessy and Andre Good each hit home runs while Trey Law and Eli Brown also had hits for the Penguins.
YSU starter Lane Rhodes was forced to leave the game due to injury after recording just one out. Kenny Misik allowed three runs on two hits while posting new career highs of three strikeouts and two innings pitched.

Up Next

Youngstown State will continue its early-season road stretch on March 3-5 with a four-game series at Baylor. The Penguins will be facing the Bears for the first time in program history.