Penguins Begin Five-Game Homestand with Two Midweek Contests

Tuesday, April 23

Niles, Ohio

Noon

Youngstown State University

Kent State

Photo by: Robert Hayes

Penguins Begin Five-Game Homestand with Two Midweek Contests

4/22/2024 10:00:00 AM | Baseball

The Youngstown State baseball team will begin a season-long five-game homestand at Eastwood Field this week with a pair of midweek non-conference contests against MAC opponents. The Penguins will host Kent State on Tuesday at noon before welcoming Akron on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Live audio for both games 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. Kent State, Akron

Opponent	Date	Location	Audio	Live Stats
	Tuesday April 23 \| Noon ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
	Wednesday April 24 \| 5 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

Freshman right-hander Colin Casteel will make his fifth start and his 10th appearance overall against the Golden Flashes on Tuesday. Casteel's last two outings have been against MAC opponents, and his previous start came at home against Toledo on April 9. Casteel has made two previous starts against non-conference opponents and two in Horizon League play.
Junior righty Lane Rhodes will take the mound on Wednesday against the Zips, and he'll be making his first start in more than six weeks. Rhodes' last start came at Georgia Tech on March 10, and Wednesday will be his fourth starting opportunity. Rhodes has pitched six times out of the bullpen, and he pitched 0.2 scoreless innings at Bowling Green in his last outing on April 16.
Youngstown State will be facing both Kent State and Akron for the second time this season. The Penguins dropped a 27-0 decision to the Golden Flashes in Kent on March 12 before earning a 4-3 victory at Akron on April 3.
YSU is coming off its first Horizon League series win of the season after taking two of three games at Purdue Fort Wayne this past weekend. The Penguins won the series opener 10-7 on Friday before earning a 12-3 victory on Saturday. The Mastodons avoided the sweep with a 6-3 win in the series finale on Sunday.
Senior outfielder RJ Sherwood batted .563 and slugged 1.438 with nine hits including four home runs over four games played this past week while helping lead the Penguins to the Horizon League series victory at Purdue Fort Wayne. The Canton, Mich., native also recorded two doubles, five RBIs, nine runs scored, 23 total bases, two walks and a .611 on-base percentage for the week while homering in three of four contests. Sherwood went 4-for-5 with two home runs and four runs scored in YSU's 12-3 series-clinching win at Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.
Redshirt senior shortstop Trey Law is batting .351 while leading the Penguins with 54 hits, eight doubles and a .416 on-base percentage. The Camp Hill, Pa., native currently ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 54 hits and 10th with a .351 batting average. Law has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 contests. He is batting .325 with a team-high 25 hits over 18 games in Horizon League play.
Freshman outfielder Alejandro Covas is batting .331 and slugging .475 while leading the Horizon League and ranking second nationally 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 .333 and slugging .536 over 18 games played in Horizon League action. He has hit safely in 13 of his last 17 games entering play this week. Covas has also reached base safely in 23 consecutive games.
Junior infielder Brett Stanley is batting .356 and slugging .559 with a team-high 18 RBIs over 16 games played and 15 starts in Horizon League play. The Washington Township, Mich., native has hit safely in six straight games and in 17 of his last 22 contests heading into play this week. Stanley currently ranks tied for seventh in the Horizon League with a team-high 11 stolen bases.
Junior right-hander Jacob Gehring leads the Penguins with 35 strikeouts and 46.1 innings pitched over a team-high 10 starts through the first 10 weeks of the 2024 season. The Canfield, Ohio, native also ranks ninth in the Horizon League with 46.1 innings pitched. Freshman right-hander Chris Domke ranks tied for second in the league with four saves.
Fifth-year senior right-hander Casey Marshalwitz leads YSU with 17 pitching appearances, all of which have come out of the bullpen. The Gibsonia, Pa., native currently ranks tied for sixth in program history with 81 career appearances. Marshalwitz earned his team-leading third win of the season after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings in YSU's 10-7 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday.
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 Promotional Schedule
Tuesday's contest will feature $2 tickets and it will be a "Trading Card Tuesday" with fans receiving exclusive YSU baseball trading cards.
Wednesday's game will feature a YSU T-Shirt Giveaway for YSU students.

Previewing Kent State & Akron

Scouting The Golden Flashes

Kent State is 19-18 overall and 10-8 in Mid-American Conference play after winning two of three games at Northern Illinois this past weekend. The Golden Flashes have won four of their last five games heading into Tuesday's matchup.
Senior outfielder Josh Johnson is batting .367 and slugging .626 while leading Kent State with 51 hits, 10 doubles, 40 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Senior infielder Tim Orr is batting .339 and slugging .606 with a team-high nine home runs to along with 34 RBIs.
Junior pitcher Peyton Cariaco owns a 3-1 record, a 2.31 ERA and two saves with 20 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched over a team-high 16 relief appearances. Junior pitcher Benny Roebuck has a 4.68 ERA with one save and 19 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched over 14 appearances and one start.

Series History

Overall: Kent State leads 63-22-1
Bertolini: 2-7 // H: 14-26-1 // A: 8-36 // N: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 2 by Kent State
Last Meeting: March 12, 2024 (L, 0-27)
First Meeting: May 1, 1979 (W, 1-0)
The Penguins dropped a 27-0 decision to the Golden Flashes in Kent earlier this season in the most-recent meeting between the two programs.
Kent State earned a 22-1 victory at Schoonover Stadium last March in the first meeting between the programs since 2019.

Scouting The Zips

Akron is 9-30 overall and 4-14 in MAC play after sweeping a three-game series at Eastern Michigan this past weekend. The Zips had dropped six straight games before picking up a 13-8 win over the Eagles on Friday.
Senior utility player Max Bowman is batting .333 and slugging .576 while leading Akron with 48 hits, nine doubles, four triples, six home runs and 34 RBIs. The Zips are batting .239 as a team heading into Wednesday's matchup with the Penguins.
Akron owns a team ERA of 7.77 and 10 different pitchers have made at least 10 appearances. Senior right-hander Yassir Kahook has a 2-1 record and a 7.04 ERA in 23 innings pitched over a team-high 17 relief appearances.

Series History

Overall: Akron leads 92-60
Bertolini: 2-1 // H: 39-30 // A: 21-59 // N: 0-3
Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
Last Meeting: April 3, 2024 (W, 4-3)
First Meeting: May 6, 1950 (L, 5-6)
The Penguins picked up a 4-3 victory at Skeeles Field in Akron earlier this season in the most-recent meeting between the two teams.
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 152 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 Purdue Fort Wayne

at Purdue Fort Wayne – Friday, April 19 // W 10-7

Five different Penguins hit home runs, and Youngstown State scored the final four runs to beat Purdue Fort Wayne 10-7 in the series opener on Friday at Mastodon Field.
Ian Francis and Teddy Ruffner both homered in the first inning as YSU took a 4-0 lead, and RJ Sherwood and Brett Stanley hit solo blasts in the fifth. Alejandro Covas then hit a two-run home run in a three-run seventh inning that accounted for the game's final runs.
It was just the seventh time in program history that the Penguins hit at least five home runs in a game, and YSU captured its second straight Horizon League victory. Eight of Youngstown State's 10 runs on Friday came on long balls.
Francis led the Penguins with three hits in four at bats, and he also drove in a team-high three runs. Stanley was 2-for-4 and scored three times, and Sherwood had two hits and scored twice. Five of Youngstown State's 11 hits went over the fence, and they helped offset 12 strikeouts.
YSU's bullpen did not allow a run over the final four innings, which allowed the Penguins to rally after Purdue Fort Wayne took a 7-6 lead. Marshalwitz earned his third victory, allowing three hits in 1.2 scoreless innings. YSU starter Jacob Gehring was charged with all seven runs, six of which were earned, in 4.2 innings. Chris Domke worked around a two-out walk in the eighth, and he retired the Mastodons in order in the ninth to earn his fourth save.

at Purdue Fort Wayne – Saturday, April 20 // W 12-3

Youngstown State won its third consecutive Horizon League game with a 12-3 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, and the Penguins did it in a different fashion than Friday's win.
A day after scoring eight of its 10 runs on home runs in Friday's 10-7 victory, Youngstown State had 18 hits on Saturday to complement outstanding pitching. Starter Brandon Mikos allowed two runs in the first inning but held the 'Dons scoreless over the next three, and Braden Gebhardt surrendered one run on just one hit in five innings of relief.
Offensively, RJ Sherwood hit his second and third home runs of the series with a pair of solo blasts, and Eli Brown added a solo homer. Those three swings matched Purdue Fort Wayne's scoring output, and YSU had plenty more offense as it claimed the series victory.
Sherwood had more hits and runs than Purdue Fort Wayne's lineup had combined, going 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two solo homers. Brett Stanley, Alejandro Covas and Brett Thompson each had three hits, and Trey Law added two hits. Stanley and Thompson both had three RBIs, and four Penguins scored multiple runs.
Mikos allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in four innings, and he threw 70 pitches in a no-decision. Gebhardt surrendered one hit and walked four, two of which came in the ninth inning, and struck out two batters in his five innings of relief. Gebhart was awarded the victory, which was his first of the season.

at Purdue Fort Wayne – Sunday, April 21 // L 3-6

Purdue Fort Wayne scored five runs between the third and fifth innings, and Youngstown State couldn't muster enough offense to mount a rally as the Mastodons won the series finale 6-3 on Sunday.
The Penguins, who had scored at least nine runs in four straight games, had their three-game winning streak in Horizon League play snapped by the 'Dons. Youngstown State was held to six hits - each of which were singles - on Sunday, and three came from leadoff batter Trey Law. Purdue Fort Wayne had nine hits, and four went for extra bases.
All six of Purdue Fort Wayne's runs went against YSU starter Sloan Ulrich, who allowed eight hits in five innings. Aidan English allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two batters in three innings of relief to cap an outstanding weekend by YSU's bullpen. Penguins' relievers allowed just one run on five hits in 12.1 innings in the three-game set against the 'Dons.

Up Next

Youngstown State will conclude its homestand at Eastwood Field with a three-game Horizon League series against Oakland beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. The Penguins and Golden Grizzlies will procced to play on Saturday at 3 p.m. before closing the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.