Penguins Host Norse in Horizon League Series Starting Thursday

The Youngstown State baseball team (3-20, 2-4 Horizon League) will begin a three-game Horizon League series against Northern Kentucky (15-9, 6-0 Horizon League) at Eastwood Field on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Penguins and Norse will proceed to play on Friday at 3 p.m. before closing the series on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Live audio for all three games of the series will be available at YSNLive.com while live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State vs. Northern Kentucky

Date	Location	Audio	Live Stats
Thursday March 28 \| 5 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Friday March 29 \| 3 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Saturday March 30 \| 1 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

Series Preview

Junior right-hander Brandon Mikos will take the ball in the series opener on Thursday while junior right-hander Jacob Gehring is slated to start on Friday. Sophomore left-hander Sloan Ulrich is scheduled to start the finale on Saturday.
YSU has dropped three straight decisions following a 19-6 setback at Toledo on Tuesday. The Guins dropped two of three games to Oakland in a Horizon League series at Eastwood Field last weekend. The Penguins won the series opener 3-2 on Friday before falling in both games of a doubleheader on Sunday. The Golden Grizzlies took game one 14-1 before earning a 13-3 victory in game two.
Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring tossed seven strong innings to earn the win in YSU's 3-2 victory over Oakland on Friday. The Canfield, Ohio, native allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out five batters in his second victory in as many starts. Gehring posted career highs with eight innings pitched and six strikeouts in a 4-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on March 15.
Youngstown State earned its first victory of the 2024 season on March 13 with a 7-6 triumph in 10 innings at Pitt. The Penguins picked up their fourth straight win over the Panthers in Pittsburgh and their sixth win in the last nine meetings overall. YSU also earned its sixth win over a Power Five opponent in the last three seasons and its 10th such victory during Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach.
Redshirt senior shortstop Trey Law is batting .326 while leading the Penguins with 28 hits, 16 runs scored and a .414 on-base percentage. The Camp Hill, Pa., native matched his career high with four hits in a win at Pitt on March 13 by going 4-for-5 with four runs scored. Junior catcher Ian Francis is batting .280 while leading the Penguins with 16 RBIs. The Youngstown, Ohio, native matched his career high with three hits by going 3-for-4 in the series opener with Oakland on Friday.
Freshman outfielder Derrick Tarpley Jr. is batting .328 and slugging .517 with 19 hits including two home runs and 11 RBIs over 16 games played. The Brownsville, Pa., native went 3-for-6 with an RBI single in YSU's win at Pitt on March 13. Tarpley Jr. has missed the last six games due to injury.
Freshman outfielder Alejandro Covas is batting .316 while leading YSU and ranking sixth in the Horizon League with eight stolen bases. The Peninsula, Ohio, native set a new career high with three hits in the series finale with Purdue Fort Wayne on March 17. Covas went 3-for-4 and tied the single-game school record with two triples to become the 11th player in program history and the first since 2021 to triple twice in a game.
Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring ranks sixth in the Horizon League with two wins, eighth with a .277 opponent batting average and 10th with 29 innings pitched. Freshman right-hander Chris Domke is tied for the league lead with two saves.
Freshman outfielder Alejandro Covas is tied for the Horizon League lead with three triples while ranking sixth with eight stolen bases.
With its 4-2 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on March 15, YSU has now won four straight Horizon League openers for the first time in program history. The Penguins also won their home opener for the second consecutive campaign.
With its 7-6 win at Pitt on March 13, Youngstown State has now earned six victories over Power Five opponents in the last three seasons. That victory also marked YSU's seventh win over an ACC opponent during Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach. The Penguins now have a win over the Panthers in each of the last five seasons that the two programs have faced off.

Promotions & Fan Information

Eastwood Field
2024 YSU Baseball Promotional Schedule
Thursday's series opener will be a "Free Food Thursday" with the first 50 YSU students receiving a free McChicken from McDonald's. There will also be a YSU Stadium Cup Giveaway.
Friday's contest will feature $2 Hot Dog Wally hot dogs and $1 pop at the concession stand, and there will be a Pete the Penguin Light Switch Cover Giveaway.
Saturday's series finale will include $4 16-ounce beer at the concession stand as well as a Pete the Penguin Air Freshener Giveaway.

Previewing Northern Kentucky

A Win on Thursday Would...

Give YSU its fourth victory of the 2024 season.
Snap a three-game losing streak.
Improve YSU's Horizon League record to 3-4.
Give YSU its third straight win over NKU.
Be the 358th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 129th at Youngstown State.

Scouting The Norse

Northern Kentucky is 15-9 overall and 6-0 in Horizon League play after having its 11-game winning streak snapped with a 20-15 loss at Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday. The Norse have swept home Horizon League series with Oakland and Milwaukee.
Redshirt freshman catcher Jake Paulick leads the Horizon League with a .413 batting average and a .515 on-base percentage. Senior infielder Liam McFadden-Ackman is batting .359 and slugging .783 while leading the league with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and 34 runs scored. The Norse lead the Horizon League in batting average, runs scored, doubles, RBIs and slugging percentage.
Senior left-hander Ben Gerl, who is the reigning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week, has a 3-0 record and a 5.97 ERA with 31 strikeouts in a team-high 31.2 innings over six starts. Senior right-hander Tanner Gillis owns a 3-1 record and a 6.23 ERA with a team-high 33 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched over six starts.
Northern Kentucky was picked second in the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll after posting a 30-27 overall record and an 17-13 mark in Horizon League play in 2023.

Series History

Overall: Northern Kentucky leads 26-13
Bertolini: 12-21 // H: 4-14 // A: 8-12 // N: 1-0
Current Win Streak: 2 by Youngstown State
Last Meeting: May 14, 2023 (W, 17-13)
First Meeting: May 20, 1977 (L, 3-4)
NKU swept a three-game series at Eastwood Field in 2023 before YSU won the final two games of a three-game series at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Highland Heights, Ky.
All but one of the 39 all-time meetings between Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky have come since 2016 when the Norse joined the Horizon League.

Up Next

The Penguins will conclude a four-game homestand at Eastwood Field on Tuesday against Pitt at 5 p.m. before traveling to Akron for another non-conference contest on Wednesday at 3 p.m.