Friday, May 5
Fort Wayne, IN
3 p.m.
Youngstown State University
at
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Purdue Fort Wayne
Photo by: Dave Dermer
Penguins Look to Continue Winning Streak at Purdue Fort Wayne
5/4/2023 10:00:00 AM | Baseball
Youngstown State at Purdue Fort Wayne
| Opponent | Date | Location | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
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Friday May 5 | 3 PM ET |
Mastodon Field Fort Wayne, Ind. |
Live Stats |
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Saturday May 6 | 2 PM ET |
Mastodon Field Fort Wayne, Ind. |
Live Stats |
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Sunday May 7 | 1 PM ET |
Mastodon Field Fort Wayne, Ind. |
Live Stats |
Weekend Preview
- The Youngstown State baseball team (11-32, 6-14 Horizon League) will open a three-game Horizon League series against Purdue Fort Wayne (10-35, 6-15 Horizon League) on Friday at 3 p.m. ET at Mastodon Field in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Penguins and Mastodons will proceed to play on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
- Live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
- Senior right-hander Travis Perry is slated to start the series opener on Friday, freshman left-hander Braden Gebhardt will take the ball in game two on Saturday and freshman left-hander Cam Marshalwitz will start the series finale on Sunday.
- The Penguins have won four straight games after sweeping a three-game Horizon League series against Milwaukee this past weekend at Eastwood Field. YSU rallied for an 8-6 win in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday before earning a convincing 11-2 victory in game two. The Guins held on for a 12-11 win in the series finale on Sunday to complete their first series sweep of 2023. YSU began its winning streak with an 8-5 victory over Akron at Eastwood Field on April 25.
- 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 92 doubles while ranking third with a .272 batting average, 403 hits and 616 total bases. Senior right-hander Travis Perry ranks second in the Horizon League with a .249 opponent batting average while ranking fourth with a 4.36 ERA, sixth with four wins and seventh with 46 strikeouts and 53.2 innings pitched. Junior right-hander Nick Perez ranks seventh in the league with 46 strikeouts and 10th with 52.1 innings pitched.
- Senior infielder Steven D'Eusanio leads the Horizon League and ranks 23rd nationally with 18 doubles while also ranking ninth in the league with 35 RBIs and 10th with 49 hits. D'Eusanio's 18 doubles are tied for the sixth most in a season in program history. He is the first Penguin since 2010 to record at least 18 doubles in a season. D'Eusanio has hit safely in 23 of his last 29 games after putting together a 12-game hitting streak from March 11 to April 2. He has also reached base safely in 29 consecutive contests. D'Eusanio is batting .300 and slugging .450 with 24 hits and 24 RBIs over 20 games in Horizon League play.
- Junior infielder Trey Law leads the Horizon League with a career-high 64 hits while also ranking second with a .368 batting average, fifth with 13 doubles, eighth with a .433 on-base percentage and ninth with 33 runs scored. Law has now hit safely in 33 of his last 37 games. He hit safely in a career-best nine straight games from Feb. 19 to March 5 before putting together an eight-game hitting streak from March 10-24. Law is batting .345 with 29 hits over 18 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior first baseman Padraig O'Shaughnessy ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 29 walks, fifth with 42 RBIs, eighth with eight home runs and 12 doubles and ninth with a .523 slugging percentage. Senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy ranks eighth in the league with 50 hits and ninth with 33 runs scored. O'Shaughnessy is batting .353 and slugging .553 with 30 hits and 16 RBIs over 20 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior outfielder Turner Grau leads the league with four triples while ranking fourth with a team-high 13 stolen bases and 10th with 23 walks. He has hit safely in 11 straight games while reaching base safely in 12 consecutive contests entering Friday's series opener. Grau has set a new YSU career record for triples with 12. With four 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 at Purdue Fort Wayne
A Win on Friday Would...
- Give YSU its 12th victory of the 2023 season.
- Give YSU its fifth straight victory.
- Give YSU its fourth straight win in Horizon League play.
- Improve YSU's Horizon League record to 7-14.
- Be the 347th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 118th at Youngstown State.
Scouting The Mastodons
- Purdue Fort Wayne is 10-35 overall and 6-15 in Horizon League play after being swept in a three-game Horizon League series at Northern Kentucky this past weekend. The Mastodons have lost seven straight contests since a 3-2 victory at Michigan State on April 19.
- Senior infielder Braedon Blackford is batting .304 and slugging .596 with 12 doubles, 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. Senior outfielder Ben Higgins is batting .303 and slugging .561 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. The Mastodons rank fourth in the Horizon League with a .266 team batting average and they are tied for the league lead with 47 home runs as a squad.
- Junior right-hander Mac Ayres has a 2-2 record and a 7.53 ERA while leading Purdue Fort Wayne with 45 strikeouts and 43 innings pitched over 15 appearances and nine starts. Senior left-hander Justin Miller has a team-best 3.75 ERA, four saves, 35 strikeouts and a .176 opponent batting average in 24 innings pitched over 13 appearances and one start.
Series History
- Overall: Youngstown State leads 14-7
- Home: 4-3 // Away: 9-4 // Neutral: 1-0 // Bertolini: 10-5
- Current Win Streak: 1 by Purdue Fort Wayne
- Last meeting: April 2, 2023 (L 3-9)
- First meeting: April 17, 2004 (W 6-1)
- Purdue Fort Wayne won two of three meetings between the two teams earlier this season. The Mastodons won the series opener 12-9 before the Penguins took game two 15-14. Purdue Fort Wayne was victorious 9-3 in the series finale.
- The Penguins won three of four meetings last season including a 6-0 victory in the first round of the 2022 Horizon League Tournament. YSU won six of eight meetings between the programs in 2021. That season marked the first meetings between the teams since 2005 as it was Purdue Fort Wayne's first season in the Horizon League.
Up Next
The Penguins will return home to Eastwood Field on Tuesday to host Bowling Green in a non-conference contest at 5 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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