Tuesday, May 16
Akron, OH / Canal Park
10:30 a.m.
Youngstown State University
vs
Akron
Photo by: Dave Dermer
Penguins Face Akron at Canal Park on Tuesday Morning in Final Non-League Tilt
5/15/2023 3:28:00 PM | Baseball
Youngstown State vs. Akron
| Opponent | Date | Location | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tuesday May 16 | 10:30 AM ET |
Canal Park Akron, Ohio |
YSNLive.com | Live Stats |
Game Preview
- The Youngstown State baseball team (17-33, 11-15 Horizon League) will go for its third straight win when it faces Akron (18-33, 10-17 MAC) on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at Canal Park in Akron, Ohio.
- Live audio will be available at YSNLive.com while live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
- Redshirt junior left-hander Kenny Misik will take the mound to make his team-leading 28th appearance and fourth start of the season. The Austintown, Ohio, native made his first-career start on April 18 at Penn State after coming out of the bullpen in his first 49 career appearances.
- The Penguins and Zips will be facing off for the second time this season. YSU picked up an 8-5 victory over Akron at Eastwood Field on April 25 in the first meeting between the two programs since 2015. That victory started a stretch of eight consecutive victories for Youngstown State.
- YSU will be going for its third straight victory and its 11th win in 12 games on Tuesday. The Penguins won eight consecutive contests from April 25 to May 9 to put together their longest winning streak since the 2005 season. As a team, the Penguins batted .319 and slugged .545 with 24 doubles, 13 home runs, 70 RBIs and 42 walks over their eight game winning streak. YSU's pitching staff has posted a 4.75 ERA and a .238 opponent batting average over that eight-game stretch. The Guins scored at least eight runs in each of the first seven games of their winning streak.
- The Penguins won two of three games at Northern Kentucky this past weekend to claim their third consecutive Horizon League series win. After having its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 10-7 loss in the series opener on Friday, YSU bounced back to win 12-4 on Saturday and 17-13 on Sunday.
- Youngstown State tied the single-game school record with six home runs as a team in Saturday's 12-4 victory at Northern Kentucky. The Penguins scored their first eight runs in the game using the long ball. YSU hit six homers in a game for the third time in school history and for the first time since May 6, 2001 at Oakland. The Guins also hit six homers at Cleveland State on May 8, 2000. Steven D'Eusanio led the home run barrage with two while Braeden O'Shaughnessy, Padraig O'Shaughnessy, Ian Francis and RJ Sherwood each went deep once.
- YSU hit 11 home runs over its final two games at NKU as it blasted five dingers in the 17-13 series-clinching victory on Sunday. Senior outfielder Andre Good hit three homers on his own to tie the single-game school record for home runs. He became just the fourth player in school history to hit three home runs in a game. He is the first Penguin to blast three homers in a single contest since Lorenzo Arcuri at Morehead State on March 7, 2017. Braeden O'Shaughnessy and Ian Francis also added home runs in the series finale on Sunday.
- YSU earned a 9-4 victory at Pitt on April 10 that marked YSU's third win over a Power Five opponent this season. It was also YSU's third straight win at Charles L. Cost Field and its fifth victory over the Panthers in the last eight meetings.
- The Penguins won their 2023 home and Horizon League opener with an 18-3 victory over Oakland at Eastwood Field on March 16. YSU set new season highs with 18 runs and 21 hits while winning its league opener for the third straight season. The Guins recorded at least 18 runs and 21 hits for the first time since March 21, 2021.
- The Penguins split a four-game series at Baylor on March 3-5. YSU's 7-5 victory on March 3 marked its first win over a Big 12 opponent since 2013. The Penguins now have five wins over Power Five opponents in the last two seasons and nine during Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach.
- Senior third baseman Braeden O'Shaughnessy was named Horizon League Batter of the Week for the first time in his career on May 9. He batted .462 and slugged 1.000 with six hits including four doubles and a home run in 13 at bats while leading the Penguins to the three-game series sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne. O'Shaughnessy also recorded nine RBIs, four runs scored, 13 total bases and a .533 on-base percentage.
- Redshirt junior shortstop Trey Law was named Horizon League Co-Batter of the Week on Feb. 28 after batting .556 and slugging .611 with 10 hits in 18 at bats over four games played at Memphis on Feb. 24-26. In addition, senior right-hander Travis Perry was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week after leading YSU to a 6-2 victory in the series opener at Memphis on Feb. 24. Perry allowed one run on two hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts over six innings.
- Youngstown State ranks second in the Horizon League with a .281 batting average and 491 hits while ranking third with 335 runs scored, 115 doubles, 50 home runs, 306 RBIs, 774 total bases, a .443 slugging percentage and a .369 on-base percentage.
- The Penguins have tied the single-season school record with 115 doubles, matching the mark that was previously set in 2010. The Guins also rank 23rd nationally in doubles. YSU's 50 home runs are tied the third most in a season in program history. This season marks just the fourth time in school history that the Penguins have hit at least 50 home runs – three of those occurrences have come in Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach.
- Youngstown State has 174 extra-base hits in 2023, which is already tied for the second most in a season in program history. The Penguins finished with 174 extra-base knocks in 2021, and the school record of 183 was set in 2010.
- Senior right-hander Travis Perry ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a .254 opponent batting average and five wins, eighth with a 4.83 ERA and ninth with 63.1 innings pitched. Junior right-hander Nick Perez ranks seventh in the league with 65 innings pitched and eighth with 59 strikeouts. Freshman left-hander Braden Gebhardt ranks 10th in the league with a .281 opponent batting average. Gebhardt has 48 strikeouts on the season, which is the most by a YSU freshman since Collin Floyd had 58 in 2016.
- Senior first baseman Steven D'Eusanio leads the Horizon League and ranks 22nd nationally with 20 doubles while also ranking fourth in the league with 62 hits, seventh with 46 RBIs and ninth with a .307 batting average. D'Eusanio's 20 doubles are tied for the fourth most in a season in program history. He is the first Penguin to record at least 20 doubles in a season since Tom Clayton had 20 in 2007. D'Eusanio has hit safely in 28 of his last 36 games after putting together a 12-game hitting streak from March 11 to April 2. He is batting .339 and slugging .523 with eight doubles, four home runs and 34 RBIs over 26 games in Horizon League play.
- Junior shortstop Trey Law leads the Horizon League with 77 hits while also ranking second with a .379 batting average, second with 17 doubles, fourth a .450 on-base percentage and fifth with 46 runs scored. Law has now hit safely in 40 of his last 44 games. He hit safely in nine straight games from Feb. 19 to March 5 before putting together an eight-game hitting streak from March 10-24. Law has now hit safely in a career-best 13 straight contests entering Tuesday's game against Akron. Law is batting .358 with 39 hits over 24 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior first baseman Padraig O'Shaughnessy ranks second in the Horizon League with 35 walks, fifth with 49 RBIs and eighth with nine home runs. He also leads the league and ranks 33rd nationally with six sacrifice flies. O'Shaughnessy's six sacrifice flies are tied for the second most in a season in program history. Senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy ranks fourth in the league with 62 hits, eighth with 14 doubles and 42 runs scored and ninth with a .307 batting average and 41 RBIs. He is batting .357 and slugging .634 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 33 RBIs over 26 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior outfielder Andre Good ranks seventh in the Horizon League with a .537 slugging percentage and eighth with nine home runs. Senior outfielder Turner Grau leads the Horizon League and ranks 19th nationally with five triples while ranking fourth in the league with a team-high 14 stolen bases. Grau has set a new YSU career record for triples with 13. With five triples this season, he has surpassed the previous mark of nine that had been held by Chris Durkin (1989-91) and Mark Thomas (1997-99). Grau also tied the single-season school record with seven triples as a sophomore in 2021.
YSU vs. Akron
A Win on Tuesday Would…
- Give YSU its 18th victory of the 2023 season.
- Give YSU its third straight victory.
- Give YSU its 11th win in its last 12 games.
- Allow YSU to sweep the season series with Akron.
- Be the 353rd in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 124th at Youngstown State.
Scouting The Zips
- Akron is 18-33 overall and 10-17 in Mid-American Conference play after being swept in a three-game non-conference series at Notre Dame this past weekend. The Zips have lost four straight decisions after dropping a midweek MAC contest to Kent State at Canal Park on May 9.
- Junior outfielder Jack Poist is batting .302 and slugging .412 with 12 doubles, 25 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Junior outfielder Jack Firestone is batting .246 and slugging .554 while leading the Zips with 16 home runs and 37 RBIs. Akron ranks 10th out of 11 teams in the MAC with a .243 team batting average.
- Freshman right-hander Emmett Gillies has a 3-4 record, a 5.68 ERA, three saves and 40 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched over a team-high 22 appearances and two starts. Junior left-hander Brett Dietrich has a 1-4 record, an 8.60 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched over 17 appearances and eight starts. The Zips rank eighth in the MAC with a 7.47 team ERA.
- Akron posted a 15-41 overall record and an 11-29 mark in MAC play in 2022. The Zips were picked 11th out of 11 teams in the 2023 MAC Baseball Preseason Poll.
Series History
- Overall: Akron leads 91-59
- Bertolini: 1-0 // Home: 39-30 // Away: 20-58 // Neutral: 0-3
- Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
- Last meeting: April 25, 2023 (W 8-5)
- First meeting: May 6, 1950 (L 5-6)
- YSU defeated Akron 8-5 at Eastwood Field on April 25 in the first meeting between the two programs since 2015. The Penguins and Zips have played 150 times in a series that dates back to 1950. The two teams split a pair of matchups during the 2015 season in the most recent encounters prior to this season.
- Tuesday's matchup will take place at Canal Park in downtown Akron, which is the home of the Akron Rubberducks, the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.
Up Next
Youngstown State will close out the regular season with a three-game Horizon League series against Wright State at Eastwood Field beginning on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Penguins and Raiders will proceed to play on Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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