Youngstown State University
Cleveland State
Penguins Host Cleveland State in Final Home Series
4/26/2023 11:33:00 AM | Softball
| YOUNGSTOWN STATE vs. Cleveland State | |
|---|---|
| Games 1 | Thursday, April 27 | 2 p.m. |
| Opponent | vs. Cleveland State | Live Stats |
| Games 2 | Thurday, April 27 | 4 p.m. |
| Opponent | vs. Cleveland State | Live Stats |
| Game 3 | Saturday, April 29 | 2:30 p.m. ET |
| Opponent | vs. Cleveland State | Live Stats |
| Live Tweets | @YSUSoftball | @YSUSports |
| Hashtags | #GoGuins | #HLSB |
| Mobile App | iOS Download | Android Download |
The First Pitch
• The Youngstown State softball team hosts Cleveland State in its final home Horizon League series of the regular season, Thursday, April 27, and Saturday, April 29.
• First pitch against the Vikings on Thursday is set for 2 p.m. and Saturday is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start. All three games will be played at the YSU Softball Field in the Covelli Sports Complex.
Last Time Out
• Last week, the Penguins lost four straight after falling to Ohio State on April 18, and losing three times at Green Bay, April 21-22.
Up Next
• The Penguins close out the regular season with a three-game series at Northern Kentucky, May 5-6, in Highland Heights, Ky.
About Cleveland State
• Cleveland State enters the series with an overall record of 14-27 and a Horizon League mark of 10-7.
• Jenna Deang leads the Vikings with a .310 batting average while Becky Hurosky is batting .300.
• Melissa Holzopfel leads the staff with a 10-9 record and a 2.57 earned-run average.
Campbell Nearing 350 at YSU
• Head Coach Brian Campbell, the winningest coach in program history with 347 wins, needs just three more to obtain his 350 win at Youngstown State.
• Campbell, who has 632 career victories, was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2012.
• In 2021, Campbell led the Penguins to the first regular-season conference championship in program history with a 36-15 overall record and a 28-8 mark in league play.
• He has led the Penguins to five 30-win seasons and is the only coach in school history to win at least 30 games in consecutive seasons - 2021, 2022 and 2016, 2017.
• Since the start of the 2021 season, Youngstown State has an overall record of 88-58 for a .603 winning percentage.
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. Youngstown State is 114-62 in 176 games in its on-campus facility for a .648 winning percentage. YSU secured its 100th victory at the complex with a 5-2 victory over Green Bay on April 23, 2022.
• The Penguins, who are 10-3 at home in 2023, have reached double digits in wins in eight of the nine seasons that they've played at the YSU Softball Complex (no home games were played in 2020).
• YSU's best season at home came in 2021 when it went 23-8 for a .742 winning percentage. The Penguins have had a winning record in seven of their eight seasons playing on campus.
• Youngstown State was 15-8 at the YSU Softball Complex in 2022, including 11-4 against Horizon League opponents during the regular season. This season, YSU is 4-2 against league foes at the YSU Softball Complex.
• The Penguins have earned a victory on each Opening Day at the YSU Softball Complex since 2014. YSU is 5-3 in their first home games since 2014, but it bounced back to split doubleheaders on the three instances in which it dropped the opener.
• Youngstown State has a 74-36 mark (.673) in Horizon League regular-season games played at the YSU Softball Field. The Penguins are 31-10 in conference regular-season contests played on their turf over the last two-plus seasons.
Howell Climbing K's Chart
Junior Sophie Howell is quickly climbing the Youngstown State all-time strikeout chart.
She currently ranks eighth with 281 career strikeouts and needs 19 more to become the eighth pitcher in program history to record at least 300 career strikeouts.
Howell has a career-best 129 strikeouts this season, which ranks third in the Horizon League and 10th on the YSU single-season list.
Bats Improved in League Play
• Youngstown State's offensive production has certainly increased during Horizon League play.
• The Penguins are batting .291 with 25 doubles, 10 home runs, and 65 runs batted in against league foes.
• Fessler boasts a .420 average against the league while Taylor Truran is at .385, Avrey Schumacher is batting .356, and Megan Turner is at .333
• Turner has six home runs with 15 RBIs, a .810 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.180 in league contests.
Fessler Feasting
• Youngstown State junior Sara Fessler has had quite an first season with the Penguins.
• Fessler leads the Horizon League with a .380 batting average, 32 runs scored, and an on-base percentage of .507.
• She ranks second with a 1.028 OPS, third with 46 hits, fourth with 11 doubles, and fifth with a .521 slugging percentage.
• Fessler turned a 4-6 triple play against Robert Morris on April 11.
Howell, Turner Sweep Horizon League Weekly Awards
• Junior Sophie Howell and senior Megan Turner were named the Horizon League Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, on March 28.
• That week, the Penguins went 6-1 overall and 4-1 in Horizon League play thanks in part to the duo.
• Howell went 3-0 with a 1.54 earned-run average, 23 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched. She also fired three complete games.
• Turner batted .471 (8-for-17) with six runs scored, two doubles, five home runs and 11 RBIs. She also slugged 1.471 and had an OBP of .500.
Penguins Picked Fifth
• Youngstown State was predicted to finish fifth in the Horizon League after a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. The Penguins, who received 50 points, are coming off their second straight 30-win campaign after going 32-24 overall and 17-9 in the Horizon League.
• Oakland earned 77 points and eight first-place votes to earn the top spot in voting done by the League's head coaches while Robert Morris (68 points) was voted second in the poll. Cleveland State (61) and Green Bay (51) were picked ahead of YSU (50), and Northern Kentucky (43), IUPUI (22), Purdue Fort Wayne (20) and Detroit Mercy (13) rounded out the poll.
2023 #HLSB Preseason Poll
Pl. Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
1. Oakland (8) – 77
2. RMU (1) – 68
3. Cleveland State – 61
4. Green Bay – 51
5. Youngstown State – 50
6. Northern Kentucky – 43
7. IUPUI – 22
8. Purdue Fort Wayne – 20
9. Detroit Mercy – 13
