2024 East Carolina Purple & Gold Invitational
March 1 vs. St. Joseph's (Pa.) – 9 a.m. | Live Stats
March 1 at East Carolina – 1:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
March 2 vs. Appalachian State – 10 a.m. | Live Stats
March 2 at East Carolina – 12:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch
March 3 vs. St. Joseph's (Pa.) – 10 a.m. | Live Stats

The Youngstown State softball team gears up for its third five-game in-season tournament, the East Carolina Purple and Gold Invitational, March 1-3, in Greenville, N.C.

The Penguins take on St. Joseph's (Pa.) and East Carolina on Friday at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively, and face Appalachian State 10 a.m. and the Pirates at 12:30 p.m. on March 2. The Penguins close out the tournament against the Hawks on Sunday at 10 a.m.

Up Next
Youngstown State is schedule to take on Norfolk State and UNLV, March 8-9. The Penguins will play both the Spartans and Runnin' Rebels each day.

Howell Climbing Charts
Senior Sophie Howell is climbing the charts in the YSU record book. Howell ranks fourth all-time with 355 career strikeouts and needs 32 more for third place. She needs 45 more whiffs to become just the third pitcher in program history to record at least 400 career strikeouts. Howell has 30 career victories and ranks tied for eighth all-time. She is also the fourth pitcher to post at least 30 career wins with at least 350 strikeouts.

Fessler Picking Up from 2023
Graduate student Sara Fessler is picking up where she left off in 2023. Through 10 games, the Cleveland, Ohio, native is batting .344 with four doubles, eight runs scored, four RBIs, and has five steals. In her 61-game career at YSU, Fessler owns a .365 batting average with 16 doubles, six home runs, 21 runs batted in, and 20 stolen bases.

Speedy Guins
Youngstown State has not been shy about stealing bases so far this season. The Penguins have stolen 19 bases through 10 games for an average of 1.9 steals per game. Sara Fessler leads the Penguins with five swipes while Ashlyn Bishop has four.

Jakse Off to Strong Start
Senior Jillian Jakse off to strong in 2024. The Plain City, Ohio, native is batting 3.45 with three doubles and six runs batted in after 10 games. She also posted a 4-for-4 performance against Valparaiso on Feb. 16.

Historic Howell
Senior Sophie Howell made YSU softball history becoming the first pitcher in program history to throw a no-hitter on opening day. Howell no-hit Delaware on Feb. 9 in a 1-0 victory and posted six strikeouts. She became the seventh pitcher in toss a no-hitter, and she three the ninth no-no in program history.

Don't Mess with Fess
Graduate student Sara Fessler turned in a player-of-the-year caliber season in 2023 for the Penguins and was named All-Horizon League First-Team. She batted .369 with 41 runs scored, 12 doubles, five home runs, 15 stolen bases, 17 runs batted in, a .541 slugging percentage and a .492 on-base percentage. Fessler batted .400 in Horizon League play with four doubles, three home runs, 10 stolen bases, a .586 slugging percentage, 30 walks and a .523 on-base percentage. She also ranked in the top five in 11 statistical categories.

Sophie's Choice
Senior Sophie Howell posted the best season of her career in 2023. Howell was named Second-team All-Horizon League selection and was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament team. She appeared in 39 games and had 200.2 innings pitched while striking out 173 batters. She completed the season with a 2.48 ERA and 17-12 record and added two saves.

Easy E
Senior shortstop Elyssa Imler was an All-Horizon League Second-Team selection in 2023 after batting .300 with six doubles and 14 runs scored against Horizon League foes. Overall, she batted .290 with 26 runs scored, 10 doubles and 19 runs batted in.

Staying 'Tru'ran
Junior Taylor Truran showed tremendous improvement during her sophomore season in 2023. Truran batted .356 with three doubles in Horizon League action. She was also named to the All-Tournament Team after batting .417 with three runs batted in and a .533 on-base percentage.

Bishop, Howell Sweep Horizon League Weekly Awards
Youngstown State senior Sophie Howell Under Armour #HLSB Pitcher of the Week and sophomore Ashlyn Bishop earned the Player-of-the-Week award, the league announced on Feb. 13.

This is the third career weekly award for Howell and the first career award for Bishop.

Howell, a native of Champion, Ohio, led the Penguins to a 4-1 record during the opening weekend and posted a 2-0 record with a 1.00 earned-run average, two complete games, 10 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .111. Howell threw the first opening day no-hitter in program history in a 1-0 win over Delaware on Feb. 9. She also struck out six against the Blue Hens. She struck out four in a complete-game five hitter in a 7-2 win over East Tennessee State on Feb. 10.

Bishop, a native of Millersville, Md., led the Penguins with a .500 batting average after going 6-for-12 during the opening weekend. Bishop also had a double, two runs scored, two runs batted in, and three stolen bases.

She collected a hit in four of the five games and had a pair of two-hit games (vs. ETSU on Feb. 10 and vs. Delaware on Feb. 11).

Penguins Picked Fourth in Horizon League
The Youngstown State softball team was predicted to finish fourth in the Horizon League after a vote by the league's head coaches. The Penguins earned 48 points and finished behind Northern Kentucky and Oakland, who were picked tied for first with 75 points, and Robert Morris, who was third. Green Bay earned 43 points to place fifth while IUPUI was sixth with 37 points, Cleveland State was seventh with 32, Purdue Fort Wayne ranked eighth with 21 points and Detroit Mercy was ninth with 10 points.

Place. Team (First Place Votes) – Points
T1. Northern Kentucky (5) – 75
T1. Oakland (4) – 75
3. RMU – 64
4. Youngtown State – 48
5. Green Bay – 43
6. IUPUI – 37
7. Cleveland State – 32
8. Purdue Fort Wayne – 21
9. Detroit Mercy – 10