The Youngstown State baseball team (4-27, 2-10 HL) will host Milwaukee (5-24, 3-9 HL) in a three-game Horizon League series at Eastwood Field beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Penguins and Panthers will proceed to conclude the series with a single game on Sunday at noon.
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. Milwaukee
Series Preview
- Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring will take the ball in the series opener on Saturday while junior right-hander Brandon Mikos is slated to start game two of the doubleheader. Sophomore left-hander Sloan Ulrich is scheduled to start the series finale on Sunday.
- The Penguins and Panthers will be facing off for the first time since Milwaukee ended YSU's season in the opening round of the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship with a 12-3 win. The Penguins won four of six meetings overall with the Panthers during the 2023 campaign.
- Youngstown State has dropped four straight decisions following an 18-8 setback to Toledo on Tuesday at Eastwood Field. Trey Law led the Penguins offensively going 3-for-5 with three RBIs from the leadoff spot in the order, and Aiden Dunlap was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Eli Brown added two hits, and four Penguins had one hit apiece as YSU posted 12 as a team. Brett Stanley walked and singled, and he stole three bases.
- Redshirt senior shortstop Trey Law is batting .352 while leading the Penguins with 43 hits, seven doubles, 50 total bases and a .416 on-base percentage. The Camp Hill, Pa., native has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games entering Saturday's series opener. Law currently ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 43 total hits.
- Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring currently ranks eighth in the Horizon League with two wins and ninth with 37.2 innings pitched and a .293 opponent batting average. The Canfield, Ohio, native leads YSU with two wins, eight starts, 37.2 innings pitched and 27 strikeouts through the first 31 games of the 2024 season. Freshman right-hander Chris Domke is tied for the second in the league with three saves.
- Freshman outfielder Alejandro Covas is batting .321 and slugging .446 while leading the Horizon League with five triples. The Peninsula, Ohio, native has become just the sixth player in program history to record at least five triples in a season. Covas went 3-for-4 and tied the single-game school record with two triples in the series finale with Purdue Fort Wayne on March 17. He became the 11th player in school history and the first since 2021 to triple twice in a game. Covas is batting .354 and slugging .542 in Horizon League play. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games entering Saturday's series opener with Milwaukee.
- Junior infielder Brett Stanley is batting .353 and slugging .588 while leading the Penguins with 10 RBIs over 10 games played and nine starts in Horizon League action. The Washington Township, Mich., native has hit safely in 11 of his last 15 games heading into Saturday's series opener.
- 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. YSU has also won four straight meetings with Pitt at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh.
Promotions & Fan Information
- Eastwood Field
- 2024 YSU Baseball Promotions Schedule
- Tickets for both days at Eastwood Field are $5 and are available at the front gate, which will open approximately one hour prior to first pitch.
- Saturday's doubleheader will feature $4 16-ounce beer at the concession stand as well as a YSU Lanyard Giveaway.
- Fans at Sunday's series finale will receive a coupon for a free chili dog from the Hot Dog Shoppe and Jib Job Hot Dog if YSU scores five runs or more.
Previewing Milwaukee
A Win in Game One on Saturday Would…
- Give YSU its fifth victory of the 2024 season.
- Snap a four-game losing streak.
- Improve YSU's Horizon League record to 3-10.
- Give the Penguins four wins in the last five meetings with the Panthers.
- Be the 359th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 130th at Youngstown State.
Scouting The Panthers
- Milwaukee owns a 5-24 overall record and a 3-9 mark in Horizon League play after a splitting a pair of midweek non-conference games earlier this week. The Panthers picked up a 7-3 home win over Valparaiso on Tuesday before falling 3-1 at Michigan on Wednesday. Milwaukee was swept by Oakland last weekend in its most-recent Horizon League series.
- Junior first baseman Justin Hausser is batting .313 and slugging .443 while leading the Panthers with 36 hits and 12 doubles. Junior infielder Tyler Bickers is batting .295 with eight doubles and 18 RBIs while sophomore outfielder Carson Hansen is batting .266 and slugging .505 with team highs of five home runs and 24 RBIs.
- Senior right-hander Luke Hansel owns a 1-3 record and a 3.00 ERA while leading Milwaukee with 43 strikeouts and 48 innings pitched over eight starts. Senior left-hander Adrian Montilva has a 1-2 record and a 3.82 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched over eight starts. Senior right-hander James Severson has a 4.79 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched over a team-high 11 appearances out of the bullpen.
- Milwaukee was picked fourth in the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll after posting a 25-32 overall record and an 11-18 mark in league play in 2023.
Series History
- Overall: Milwaukee leads 70-46
- Bertolini: 16-22 // H: 27-30 // A: 13-28 // N: 6-12
- Current Win Streak: 1 by Milwaukee
- Last meeting: May 24, 2023 (L, 3-12)
- First meeting: April 2, 1994 (L, 0-4)
- Youngstown State and Milwaukee will be meeting for the first time since the Panthers ended the Penguins' season in the opening round of the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship with a 12-3 victory.
- YSU won four of six meetings between the two programs during the 2023 season. The two teams split a doubleheader at Franklin Field in late March before the Penguins swept a three-game series at Eastwood Field in late April.
Recapping Toledo
vs. Toledo – April 9, 2024 // L 8-18
- Toledo scored eight runs during a sixth inning that was interrupted by a rain delay and went on to beat Youngstown State 18-8 on Tuesday at Eastwood Field.
- The Rockets held a 7-6 lead after five innings, and their lead grew to 12-6 before play was stopped for approximately 1:40. Toledo added three more tallies after the delay, and three runs in the seventh increased the margin to 18-6. The Penguins scored twice in the bottom of the seventh in what was the final inning of the game, which lasted more than four-and-a-half hours with the delay.
- Trey Law led the Penguins offensively going 3-for-5 with three RBIs from the leadoff spot in the order, and Aiden Dunlap was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Eli Brown added two hits, and four Penguins had one hit apiece as YSU posted 12 as a team. Brett Stanley walked and singled, and he stole three bases.
- Youngstown State used six pitchers in the game, and six runs were charged to starter Colin Casteel. Aidan English was the first Penguin out of the bullpen, and he pitched a team-high 2.1 innings in relief.
Up Next
The Penguins will begin a four-game road swing on Wednesday with non-conference contest at Bowling Green. First pitch at Steller Field is currently scheduled for 3 p.m.
