Wednesday, May 24
Dayton, Ohio / Nischwitz Stadium
Noon
Youngstown State University
vs
Milwaukee
Photo by: Robert Hayes
Penguins to Face Milwaukee on Wednesday in Horizon League Baseball Championship
5/22/2023 1:07:00 PM | Baseball
Youngstown State vs. Milwaukee
| Opponent | Date | Location | Video | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Wednesday May 24 | 12 PM ET |
Nischwitz Stadium Dayton, Ohio |
ESPN+ | Live Stats |
Game Preview
- The fourth-seeded Youngstown State baseball team (19-35, 13-16 Horizon League) will face fifth-seeded Milwaukee (23-30, 11-18 Horizon League) in an elimination game on Wednesday at noon in the opening round of the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.
- All games of the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship will 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 is slated to make his team-leading 14th start of the season on the mound. The Oil City, Pa., native ranks third in the Horizon League with a .251 opponent batting average, fifth with five wins, sixth with a 4.61 ERA, seventh with 68.1 innings pitched and ninth with 58 strikeouts.
- YSU will be facing Milwaukee for the sixth time this season. The Penguins and Panthers split a doubleheader at Franklin Field in late March before YSU swept a three-game series at Eastwood Field in late April.
- The Penguins have won 12 of their last 15 games after putting together an eight-game winning streak from April 25 to May 9. YSU won eight straight games for the first time since the 2005 season. The Guins closed out the regular season by taking two of three games against top-seeded Wright State at Eastwood Field to claim their fourth straight Horizon League series victory.
- YSU's eight-game winning streak started with an 8-5 victory over Akron at Eastwood Field on April 25. Since then, only six teams in the nation - Clemson, Oral Roberts, Southern Miss, Kent State and Quinnipiac - have won more games. In addition, only 13 teams in the country have a better winning percentage than YSU since April 25.
- Youngstown State tied the single-game school record with six home runs as a team in a 12-4 victory at Northern Kentucky on May 13. 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 May 14. 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.
- Senior third baseman Braeden O'Shaughnessy was named Horizon League Batter of the Week 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- YSU ranks second in the Horizon League with a .279 batting average, 523 hits and 12 triples while ranking third with 120 doubles, 54 home runs, 357 runs scored, 328 RBIs, 829 total bases and a .442 slugging percentage. YSU's 54 home runs rank as the second most in a season in program history behind the school record of 60 that was set in 2010. 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 during Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach.
- The 2010 campaign is the only other season in school history where three different Penguins hit at least nine home runs in the same season. This season marks the only campaign in YSU history that four different players have hit at least eight homers.
- The Penguins have set a new single-season school record with 120 doubles as team. The previous record of 115 was set in 2010. YSU ranks 25th nationally in doubles while ranking 35th with 2.22 doubles per game. Youngstown State has also set a new single-season school record with 186 extra-base hits, surpassing the previous mark of 183 that was set in 2010.
- YSU has posted double-digit Horizon League wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history. YSU went 21-36 in 2022 to achieve back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2005-06. The Penguins have not won at least 20 games in three straight seasons since doing it in four straight campaigns from 2003-06.
- Junior right-hander Nick Perez ranks sixth in the Horizon League with a team-high 69 innings pitched while ranking eighth with a team-high 61 strikeouts. Freshman left-hander Braden Gebhardt ranks eighth in the league with a .270 opponent batting average. Gebhardt has 54 strikeouts on the season, which is the most by a YSU freshman since Collin Floyd had 58 in 2016. Gebhardt is just the fourth YSU freshman to record at least 50 strikeouts since YSU joined the Horizon League in 2002.
- Senior infielder Steven D'Eusanio leads the Horizon League and ranks 27th nationally with 21 doubles while also ranking fifth in the league with 64 hits and seventh with 47 RBIs. D'Eusanio has hit safely in 30 of his last 39 games after putting together a 12-game hitting streak from March 11 to April 2.
- D'Eusanio's 21 doubles are tied for the third most in a season in program history. He is the first Penguin to record at least 21 doubles in a season since Todd Santore had 21 in 2001. D'Eusanio ranks tied for fourth in school history with 208 career games played. The Willoughby, Ohio native also ranks fourth in YSU history with 25 career home runs.
- Junior infielder Trey Law leads the Horizon League with 80 hits while also ranking second with a .370 batting average and 17 doubles and fourth with a .445 on-base percentage and 50 runs scored. Law has now hit safely in 43 of his last 48 games after putting together a career-best 15-game hitting streak from April 15 to May 18.
- Law's 80 hits are tied for the third most in a season in program history. He is the first Penguin to record at least 80 hits in a season since Jacke Healey had 83 in 2010. Law's .370 batting average is also the highest by a Penguin since Jeremy Banks hit .385 in 2012. Only three players (John Koehnlein in 2007 and 2009), Tom Clayton (2010), Jeremy Banks (2013) have hit at least .370 over a season since YSU joined the Horizon League in 2002.
- Senior first baseman Padraig O'Shaughnessy ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 35 walks, fifth with 53 RBIs and eighth with nine home runs. He also leads the league with six sacrifice flies, which ranks as the second most in a season in program history. O'Shaughnessy currently ranks fourth in YSU history with 103 career walks.
- Senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy ranks fifth in the league with 64 hits, eighth with 43 runs scored, eighth with nine home runs, ninth with 15 doubles and 10th with 43 RBIs. Senior outfielder Andre Good ranks eighth in the Horizon League with nine home runs.
- Senior outfielder Turner Grau leads the Horizon League with seven triples while ranking fourth with a team-high 15 stolen bases. Grau has set a new YSU career record for triples with 15. With seven 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 has also tied the single-season school record with seven triples for the second time in his career. He also had seven triples a sophomore in 2021 to match Lou Vassalotti's record that was set in 1994.
- Freshman second baseman Matt Thompson is on pace to become just the seventh YSU freshman to bat at least .300 since YSU joined the Horizon League in 2002. He would be the first YSU freshman to bat at least .300 since Jason Shirley hit .303 in 2012. Thompson's 52 hits are the most by a YSU freshman since Jeff Wehler recorded 52 in 2018. The Wadsworth, Ohio, native is batting .311 with 52 hits at the conclusion of the regular season.
YSU vs. Milwaukee
A Win on Wednesday Would...
- Give YSU its 20th victory of the 2023 season.
- Give YSU its third straight victory.
- Give YSU its 13th win in its last 16 games.
- Be YSU's fourth straight win over Milwaukee.
- Advance YSU to the winner's bracket of the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship.
- Be the 355th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 126th at Youngstown State.
Scouting The Panthers
- Milwaukee finished the regular season at 23-30 overall and 11-18 in Horizon League play after dropping two of three games against Purdue Fort Wayne this past weekend. The Panthers have lost 12 of their last 15 games heading into the Horizon League Tournament.
- Senior Aaron Chapman is batting .333 and slugging .500 with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 24 RBIs. Senior infielder Mark Connelly is batting .299 and slugging .413 while leading the Panthers with 13 doubles and 34 RBIs. Milwaukee ranks sixth in the Horizon League with a .259 team batting average.
- Junior left-hander Riley Frey has a 4-7 record, a 5.10 ERA and a league-high 81 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched over 15 appearances and 14 starts. Senior right-hander Nate DeYoung has a 1-0 record, a 2.08 ERA, a league-high nine saves and 25 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched over 13 relief appearances. Senior right-hander Sam Mathews has a 2-1 record, a 2.65 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched over a league-high 34 relief appearances.
Series History
- Overall: Milwaukee leads 69-46
- Home: 27-30 // Away: 13-28 // Neutral: 6-11
- Bertolini: 16-21
- Current Win Streak: 3 by Youngstown State
- Last meeting: April 30, 2023 (W 12-11)
- First meeting: April 2, 1994 (L 0-4)
- Youngstown State and Milwaukee will be meeting for the sixth time this season. The two teams split a doubleheader at Franklin Field in late March before YSU swept a three-game series at Eastwood Field in late April.
- YSU won three of five meetings between the programs in 2022. The Penguins won two of three games at Eastwood Field before the teams split a doubleheader at Franklin Field in Wisconsin.
Up Next
If the Penguins advance past Milwaukee on Wednesday, they would move into the winner's bracket on Thursday. Top-seeded Wright State will play the lowest seed remaining on Thursday at 11 a.m. while second-seeded Oakland will play the highest seed remaining on Thursday at 3 p.m.
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/ BaseballTuesday, February 11
Tuesday, February 11
