Penguins Head to Akron Wednesday for Non-Conference Contest

Wednesday, April 3

Akron, OH

3 p.m.

Youngstown State University

Akron

Photo by: Robert Hayes

Penguins Head to Akron Wednesday for Non-Conference Contest

4/2/2024 12:58:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

The Youngstown State baseball team (3-23, 2-7 Horizon League) will play a non-conference contest against Akron (5-21, 1-11 MAC) at Skeeles Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 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 at Akron

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Wednesday April 3 \| 3 PM	Skeeles Field Akron, Ohio	ESPN+	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

Scouting Report

Sophomore right-hander Aidan English will take the ball to make his second start of the season on Wednesday.
The Penguins and Zips split a pair of matchups during the 2023 season in the first meetings between the two programs since 2015.
YSU was swept by Northern Kentucky in a three-game Horizon League series at Eastwood Field on Thursday and Friday. The Norse took the series opener 4-2 on Thursday before sweeping a doubleheader on Friday. NKU won 8-7 in 10 innings in game one on Friday before earning an 8-4 victory in the series finale.
Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring tossed seven strong innings to earn the win in YSU's 3-2 victory over Oakland on March 22. 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 .337 while leading the Penguins with 33 hits, 19 runs scored, 13 walks and a .416 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. Law has hit safely in five straight games entering Wednesday's contest at Akron.
Freshman outfielder Alejandro Covas is batting .301 while leading the Horizon League with four triples. The Peninsula, Ohio, native also leads YSU and ranks tied for seventh in the league with nine stolen bases. Covas 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. He has hit safely in five straight games entering Wednesday's game at Akron.
Junior infielder Brett Stanley leads Youngstown State with a .409 batting average, a .591 slugging percentage and six RBIs over seven games played and six starts in Horizon League play. The Washington Township, Mich., native batted .375 and slugged .563 with a double, a triple and five RBIs over four games played this past week. Stanley has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games. He went 2-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs in game one of Friday's doubleheader with Northern Kentucky before going 3-for-4 with an RBI double in game two.

Previewing Akron

A Win on Wednesday Would...

Give YSU its fourth victory of the 2024 season.
Snap a six-game losing streak.
Give YSU two wins in its last three meetings with Akron.
Be the 358th in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 129th at Youngstown State.

Scouting The Zips

Akron is 5-21 overall and 1-11 in Mid-American Conference play after being swept in a three-game series with Miami Ohio at Skeeles Field on Thursday and Friday. The Zips have dropped seven straight decisions entering Wednesday's contest.
Senior Max Bowman is batting .300 and slugging .478 while leading Akron with 27 hits, two home runs, 16 RBIs and 17 walks. The Zips are batting .218 as a team through the first 26 games of the 2024 season.
Junior right-hander Jack Kelley owns a 1-1 record and a 6.20 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched over 10 appearances and three starts. Senior right-hander Yassir Kahook has made a team-high 12 appearances out of the bullpen.
Freshman right-hander Elijah Griffith is scheduled to start for the Zips on Wednesday. He owns a 1-1 record and a 16.20 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched over eight appearances and one start.
Akron was picked 11th in the 2024 MAC Baseball Head Coaches Preseason Poll after posting a 21-34 overall record and an 12-18 mark in MAC play in 2023.

Series History

Overall: Akron leads 92-59
Bertolini: 1-1 // H: 39-30 // A: 20-59 // N: 0-3
Current Win Streak: 1 by Akron
Last Meeting: May 16, 2023 (L, 4-13)
First Meeting: May 6, 1950 (L, 5-6)
YSU and Akron split a pair of matchups during the 2023 season in the first meetings between the two programs since 2015. The Penguins earned an 8-5 win at Eastwood Field before Akron picked up a 13-4 victory at Canal Park.
The Penguins and Zips have played 151 times in a series that dates back to 1950. The two teams split a pair of meetings during the 2015 season in the most recent encounters prior to last season.

Recapping Northern Kentucky

vs. Northern Kentucky – Thursday, March 28 // L 2-4

Northern Kentucky scored twice in the top of the ninth inning to break a 2-2 tie and held on for a 4-2 victory over Youngstown State in the Horizon League series opener on Thursday at Eastwood Field.
The Norse scored a pair of runs in the top of the second inning before the Penguins cut the deficit in half with a single run in the bottom of the fourth. YSU posted another single tally in the home half of the eighth to even the score before NKU plated two runs in the ninth to regain the advantage.
Matt Thompson went 2-for-3 with an RBI single while Trey Law was 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Alejandro Covas singled and scored a run while Teddy Ruffner delivered a key double in the eighth inning. The Penguins and Norse were even in the hit column with six hits apiece.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos allowed two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in 1.2 innings on the mound. Braden Gebhardt permitted just two hits while recording a career-high eight strikeouts over a season-high 5.2 scoreless innings of relief. Casey Marshalwitz was saddled with the loss after allowing one run in his one inning out of the bullpen.

vs. Northern Kentucky – Friday, March 29 (Game 1) // L 7-8 (10 innings)

Youngstown State rallied to force extra innings before Northern Kentucky scored in the top of the 10th inning and held on for an 8-7 victory in a back-and-forth game one of Friday's doubleheader.
The Penguins led 6-3 after seven innings, but the Norse struck for four runs in the top of the eighth to take a one-run advantage. YSU remained alive with a single run in the bottom of the ninth to force the extra frame before NKU regained the upper hand with a decisive run in the top of the 10th.
Brett Stanley went 2-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs while Eli Brown was 2-for-2 with three walks, an RBI and two runs scored. Aiden Dunlap went 2-for-4 and scored a run while Alejandro Covas delivered a key triple and scored the game-tying run in the ninth inning.
YSU starter Jacob Gehring allowed three runs on three hits and five walks over 4.1 innings in a no-decision. Nick Perez surrendered two runs on three hits with two strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief. Casey Marshalwitz was responsible for two runs while Chris Domke had three strikeouts over two scoreless innings. Nolan Kubilus suffered the loss after allowing one run on two hits and two walks in the 10th.

vs. Northern Kentucky – Friday, March 29 (Game 2) // L 4-8

Youngstown State fell to Northern Kentucky by a final score of 8-4 in the second game of Friday's doubleheader. The Penguins trailed 4-3 after five innings before the Norse scored three runs over their final three at bats and held on to complete the series sweep.
Stanley went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and a stolen base as part of a five-hit day while Trey Law was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. After matching the Norse with 11 hits in game one on Friday, the Penguins grinded out eight hits as a team in the series finale.
YSU starter Colin Casteel allowed two runs on four hits and four walks with four punch outs over four innings on the mound. Chase Franken took the loss after surrendering two runs in the fifth inning while Gavin Wilms was responsible for three runs on two hits in one inning of work. Brandin Anderson and Cam Marshalwitz each tossed a scoreless inning of relief while Mikey Rodriques was tagged with one unearned run in the ninth inning.

Up Next

Youngstown State will return to Horizon League play on Friday when it begins a three-game series at Wright State at 3 p.m. The Penguins and Raiders will proceed to play on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.