Kenosha, Wis. — Youngstown State's bowling team had back-to-back high-scoring sets to close out Saturday's traditional round and climbed back into the top four qualifying spots at the SFA Ladyjack Classic.
The Penguins were third after Friday's Baker round, but they slid to fifth after three matches on Saturday. Needing to be in the top four to compete in Sunday's championship bracket at Sheridan Lanes, the Penguins fired sets of 1,083 and 1,047 in their final two matches to jump Vanderbilt and move into fourth.
Youngstown State will begin Sunday's bracket of best-of-seven Baker matches against Maryville, which handed the Penguins their lone loss on Saturday.
The scoring pace picked up across the house compared to Friday, and Vanderbilt surged from ninth up to fourth place after firing a 1,237 set in an uncontested match. That put the Commodores up 110 pins on YSU with two qualifying matches remaining.
With YSU winning its final four head-to-head matches by an average of 185 pins, the focus was the race against Vanderbilt. Youngstown State shot 1,083 in a win over No. 24 Oklahoma Christian to shave 40 pins off the different with Vandy as the teams bowled on the opposite ends of the center. The Penguins then fired a 1,047 to beat No. 15 Newman in the final match, and Vanderbilt shot 948 in its win against Nebraska one pair over. That allowed the Penguins to move 29 pins ahead of the Commodores, and YSU qualified just 10 pins behind Maryville.
YSU dropped its opening match 1,009-886 to the Saints, and the Penguins followed that with four straight wins. They beat Marian 958-58, Carthage 1,010-787, Oklahoma Christian 1,083-873, and Newman 1,047-837. Combined with Friday's results, the Penguins have a 7-3 head-to-head record at the tournament.
Individually, YSU had three bowlers place in the top 25, and all nine Penguins competed on Saturday. Madyson Marx shot between 215 and 227 in four of her five games and was YSU's top finisher on Saturday with a seventh-place set of 1,077. Kirsten Moore was four spots back with a 1,068 set, and Jade Cote finished 24th with a 1,029. Youngstown State rotated bowlers in the other two spots in the lineup.
Youngstown State's match against Maryville on Sunday to start bracket play will begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
