Tuesday, April 16
Bowling Green, OH
3 p.m.
Youngstown State University
at
Bowling Green
Photo by: Robert Hayes
Penguins Begin Four-Game Road Stretch Tuesday at Bowling Green
4/15/2024 4:34:00 PM | Baseball
The Youngstown State baseball team (5-29, 3-12 HL) will begin a four-game road stretch on Tuesday with a non-conference contest against Bowling Green (19-11, 15-0 MAC) at 3 p.m.
Live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.
Youngstown State at Bowling Green
| Opponent | Date | Location | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
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Tuesday April 16 | 3 PM ET |
Steller Field Bowling Green, Ohio |
Live Stats |
Game Preview
- Senior right-hander Nick Perez is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Tuesday. The Bayside, N.Y., native has logged 13.2 innings pitched over 10 appearances out of the bullpen thus far in 2024.
- The Penguins will be looking for their second straight victory in the series with the Falcons after earning a 5-1 win at Eastwood Field last May in the most-recent encounter. Bowling Green picked up an 18-6 win at Steller Field in the first meeting between the teams during the 2023 season.
- Youngstown State snapped a six-game losing skid with an 11-8 victory in the Horizon League series finale with Milwaukee on Sunday at Eastwood Field. Matt Thompson hit a key grand slam during a six-run sixth inning that propelled the Penguins to their fifth victory of the season. Trey Law had a game-high three hits from the leadoff spot in the lineup, and Brett Stanley finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs from the second spot. The top four batters each scored twice for the Penguins, who had an impressive response after being swept by the Panthers in a doubleheader on Saturday.
- Redshirt senior shortstop Trey Law is batting .356 while leading the Penguins with 48 hits, eight doubles, 56 total bases and a .421 on-base percentage. The Camp Hill, Pa., native currently ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 48 hits and 10th with a .356 batting average. Law has hit safely in four straight games and in 12 of his last 13 contests. He is batting .323 with a team-high 20 hits over 15 games in Horizon League play.
- Freshman outfielder Alejandro Covas is batting .317 and slugging .450 while leading the Horizon League with six triples. The Peninsula, Ohio, native has become just the fourth player in program history to record at least six triples in a season. Covas' six triples are the most by a freshman in YSU history and rank tied for the second most in a season in school history overall.
- 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 .339 and slugging .536 over 15 games played in Horizon League action. He has hit safely in 10 of his last 13 games entering Tuesday's contest at Bowling Green. Covas has also reached base safely in 19 consecutive games.
- Junior infielder Brett Stanley is batting .333 and slugging .533 with a team-high 14 RBIs over 13 games played and 12 starts in Horizon League play. The Washington Township, Mich., native has hit safely in 13 of his last 18 games heading into Tuesday's contest at Bowling Green.
- Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring leads the Penguins with two wins, 31 strikeouts and 41.2 innings pitched over a team-high nine starts through the first 34 games of the 2024 season. The Canfield, Ohio, native also ranks ninth in the Horizon League with 41.2 innings pitched. Freshman right-hander Chris Domke ranks tied for second in the league with three saves.
- Fifth-year senior right-hander Casey Marshalwitz leads YSU with 16 pitching appearances, all of which have come out of the bullpen. The Gibsonia, Pa., native currently ranks seventh in program history with 80 career appearances. Marshalwitz earn his second win of the season in YSU's 11-8 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday by throwing three innings of relief and allowing one run on two hits while striking out three.
- 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.
Previewing Bowling Green
A Win on Tuesday Would…
- Give YSU its sixth victory of the 2024 season.
- Give YSU its second straight victory.
- Give the Penguins their second straight win in the series with the Falcons.
- Be the 360th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 131st at Youngstown State.
Scouting The Falcons
- Bowling Green is 19-11 overall and 15-0 in Mid-American Conference play after sweeping a three-game MAC series with Central Michigan at Steller Field this past weekend. The Falcons have won four straight and seven of their last eight games entering Tuesday's contest.
- Senior infielder Tyler Ross is batting .354 and slugging .646 with five home runs and 23 RBIs while sophomore outfielder/pitcher DJ Newman is batting .348 and slugging .643 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. Senior outfielder Jack Krause is batting .347 and slugging .622 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs while junior outfielder Nathan Archer is batting .315 and slugging .615 with a team-high 10 home runs and 34 RBIs.
- Sophomore right-hander Perry Miller will start on the mound for the Falcons on Tuesday. He owns a 3-0 record and a 5.06 ERA with four strikeouts in 10.2 innings over nine appearances out of the bullpen. BGSU owns a team ERA of 7.17 heading into Tuesday's contest.
- Bowling Green was picked eighth out of 11 teams in the 2024 MAC Baseball Preseason Poll after posting a 20-30 overall record and an 13-17 mark in MAC play in 2023.
Series History
- Overall: Youngstown State leads 13-6
- Bertolini: 5-3 // H: 7-2 // A: 6-4 // N: 0-0
- Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
- Last Meeting: May 9, 2023 (W, 5-1)
- First Meeting: March 21, 1989 (L, 6-14)
- The Penguins picked up a 5-1 victory over the Falcons in the most-recent meeting at Eastwood Field on May 9, 2023. The Falcons won an 18-6 decision in Bowling Green last March.
- YSU had won 10 straight games over BGSU before a 15-5 loss at Steller Field in Bowling Green on March 26, 2019. The Falcons had won three straight encounters until the Penguins' 5-1 win last May.
Recapping Milwaukee
vs. Milwaukee – Saturday, April 13 (Game 1) // L 3-10
- Milwaukee scored the first eight runs of the contest and went on to defeat Youngstown State 10-3 in game one of Saturday's Horizon League doubleheader at Eastwood Field.
- The Panthers scored in each of their first five at bats to build a 7-0 lead and a single run in the seventh gave the visitors an 8-0 edge. The Penguins notched a single tally in the home half of the seventh, but the Panthers got the run back in the top half of the eighth. Milwaukee added another run in the top of the ninth to lead 10-1 before YSU pushed across a pair of runs in the home half for the final margin.
- Teddy Ruffner went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored while Eli Brown went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
- YSU starter Jacob Gehring suffered the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts over four innings. Nolan Kubilus was responsible for three runs on five hits in three innings of relief while Zach Stayduhar and Lane Rhodes each allowed a run in one inning on the mound.
vs. Milwaukee – Saturday, April 13 (Game 2) // L 2-10
- Milwaukee scored eight runs over the first three innings and went on to defeat Youngstown State 10-2 in the second game of Saturday's twin bill.
- The Panthers scored three runs in the first inning and five in the third to take an early 8-0 advantage. The Penguins plated a single run in the third and another in the fifth but could not muster enough offense to overcome the early deficit. Milwaukee added two insurance runs in the ninth for the final margin.
- Ian Francis went 2-for-4 with an RBI double while eight other Penguins added one hit apiece. Stanley and Alejandro Covas each singled, walked and scored a run.
- YSU starter Brandon Mikos took the loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits over 2.1 innings of work. Braden Gebhardt surrendered two runs on four hits with five strikeouts in six strong innings of relief. The sophomore left-hander blanked the Panthers over five straight frames between the fourth and eighth innings.
vs. Milwaukee – Sunday, April 14 // W 11-8
- Matt Thompson hit a grand slam in a six-run sixth inning, and the Youngstown State baseball team beat Milwaukee 11-8 on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Eastwood Field.
- Thompson's blast between the batter's eye and the scoreboard in right-center came after Brett Stanley's two-run double that had broken a 5-5 tie earlier in the inning. Youngstown State's only deficit was 1-0 after two innings, and the Penguins erased that with four runs in the third.
- The Penguins scored 11 runs on nine hits and eight walks, and they took advantage of opportunities with runners on base as they stranded just five. All 11 runs came after there were two outs.
- Trey Law had a game-high three hits from the leadoff spot in the lineup for Youngstown State, and Stanley finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs from the second spot. The top four batters each scored twice for the Penguins, who had an impressive response after being swept by the Panthers in a doubleheader on Saturday.
- While the offense put up 11 runs, Youngstown State's bullpen held the Panthers to one run on three hits in a four-inning stretch from the fifth through eighth innings. Casey Marshalwitz earned the victory by throwing three innings of relief and allowing one run on two hits while striking out three.
Up Next
Youngstown State will continue its road stretch on Friday when it begins a three-game Horizon League series at Purdue Fort Wayne at 3 p.m. The Penguins and Mastodons will proceed to play on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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