The Youngstown State bowling team won twice on Saturday to set up a winner-take-all rematch against Vanderbilt, and the Penguins finished the 2022-23 season as the Lansing Regional Runners-Up.
YSU had an uphill climb from the loser's bracket after losing in the second round on Friday to Vanderbilt, but the Penguins endured a long battle with Maryville in the morning and swept the Commodores in a mega match in the mid-afternoon to set up an evening showdown with their fellow-Southland members. The winner-take-all match was a best-of-seven Baker format, and Vanderbilt was able to win it 4-0 to punch its ticket to the Final Four next week.
Youngstown State finishes the season with a school-record 83 wins and a program-best .659 winning percentage. The Penguins finished in a tie for fifth in the national tournament, which is the second-best showing in the program's seven seasons.
Post-Match Interviews
Match 1 vs. Maryville
The Penguins had to survive a battle to the final frame against Maryville just to set up the two matches against Vanderbilt. YSU won the traditional point, but Maryville evened the match by taking the Baker total pinfall set by one point. The best-of-seven Baker round sent down to the final frame before the Penguins prevailed.
In the traditional round, Youngstown State posted an impressive 143-pin victory over the Saints. The Penguins held the edge in the bottom four slots in the lineup, and Madyson Marx led all bowlers with a 255 game in the anchor position. Jade Cote bowled a 212 at the leadoff spot, and she was followed by a 192 from Lyndsay Ennis, a 200 from Megan Grams and a 193 from Kirsten Moore.
In the Baker pinfall portion of the mega match, YSU started with games of 212 and 234 to take a 57-pin advantage. The Saints shaved 24 pins from the margin in the third game and 10 more in the fourth, giving the Penguins a 23-pion lead heading into the fifth game. Youngstown State shot 209 in game five, but Maryville struck on its final six attempts to finish with a 233 and win 1,040-1,039.
In the best-of-seven tiebreaker, Youngstown State took the opener 247-177, but Maryville earned back-to-back wins by a total of 16 pins to go up 2-1. YSU fired 215 in consecutive games to take the fourth and fifth games and go up 3-2, and the Saints forced game seven with a 61-point win in game six. In game seven, Maryville needed a strike on its first ball in the 10th to win, but it spared and struck to give the Penguins a 184-178 victory.
Traditional: YSU won 1,052-909
YSU's Starting Lineup: Cote, Ennis, Grams, Moore, Marx
YSU-MU
212-212
192-170
200-172
193-168
255-187
Baker: Maryville won 1,040-1,039
YSU's Starting Lineup: Cote, Ennis, Grams, Moore, Marx
YSU-MU
212-190
234-199
185-209
199-209
209-233
Best-of-seven Baker: YSU won 4-3
YSU's Starting Lineup: Grams, Moore, Bunk, Cote, Marx
Game 1: YSU won 247-177
Game 2: Maryville won 202-193
Game 3: Maryville won 186-179
Game 4: YSU won 215-174
Game 5: YSU won 215-173
Game 6: Maryville won 236-175
Game 7: YSU won 184-178
Match 2 vs. Vanderbilt
After the three-and-a-half emotional victory over the Saints, YSU regrouped after a short break and was able to sweep Vanderbilt 2-0 in a mega-match.
In the traditional set, Youngstown State won 1,030-967 thanks to a 111-pin advantage from the final three spots in the lineup. Marx had the highest score on the pair again with a 248, and Moore was right behind her with a 233. Grams fired a 196 from the third slot, Hope Bunk shot 192, and Cote shot 161.
The Penguins had a huge 227-155 advantage in the opening round of the Baker pinfall point, and Vanderbilt was never able to recover. YSU added 34 pins over the next two games to have a 106-pin advantage with two games left, and the Penguins went on to win 1,032-932.
Traditional: YSU won 1,030-967
YSU's Starting Lineup: Cote, Bunk, Grams, Moore, Marx
YSU-Vandy
161-187
192-214
196-169
233-204
248-193
Baker: YSU won 1,032-932
YSU's Starting Lineup: Cote, Bunk, Grams, Moore, Marx
YSU-Vandy
227-155
210-182
186-180
217-244
192-171
Match 3 vs. Vanderbilt
With YSU coming out of the elimination bracket and Vanderbilt being 2-0 in the double-elimination tournament, the Penguins had to beat the Commodores again to earn the Regional Championship. Every winner-take-all matches at the national tournament are a best-of-seven Baker format, and Vanderbilt won 4-0.
Youngstown State threw the front four in the opening game, but strikes ended up being hard to come by as the match went on. A split in the fifth and another in the eighth allowed Vanderbilt to win 209-197, and the 'Dores had their lone large margin in the match in game two at 232-178.
In game three, Moore's strike in the fourth was the first strike for either team in the game as both club's fought the lane transition. YSU missed two opportunities to convert the 3-6-10 in a four-frame stretch, and Vanderbilt struck on six of its final seven attempts to rally for a big 181-168 win to take a 3-0 lead in the match. Vanderbilt threw the front three in game four and led for the duration on its way to a 211-192 victory.
Best-of-seven Baker: Vanderbilt won 4-0
YSU's Starting Lineup: Cote, Bunk, Grams, Moore, Marx
Game 1: Vanderbilt won 209-197
Game 2: Vanderbilt won 232-178
Game 3: Vanderbilt won 181-168
Game 4: Vanderbilt won 211-192
