Youngstown State University
Robert Morris
No. 1 Penguins to Face Robert Morris on Thursday
5/8/2024 10:32:00 AM | Softball
The First Pitch
The No. 1 seed Youngstown State softball team hosts the 2024 Horizon League Softball Championships at the YSU Softball Field in the Covelli Sports Complex. The Penguins earned a bye in the first round and will face No. 5 Robert Morris seed on Thursday, May 9. The Colonials defeated third-seeded Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. First pitch is set for Noon. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
Youngstown State claimed its second regular-season championship in the last four years after sweeping IUPUI, May 2-3, in Youngstown. The Penguins knocked off the Jaguars, 8-4, 1-0, and 3-2.
Up Next
With a win, the Penguins will play the winner of game No. 5 on Friday, May 10, at 2:30 p.m. If the Penguins lose, they will on Friday, May 10, at 12 p.m.
Penguins Earn League Honors
Youngstown State senior Elyssa Imler was named the 2024 Horizon League Player of the Year while senior Conchetta Rinaldi was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Head Coach Brian Campbell was tabbed Horizon League Coach of the Year for the third time. Four Penguins were voted to the All-Horizon League Teams as Imler, and senior Sophie Howell garnered first-team honors while Rinaldi and freshman Lydia Wilkerson were named to the second team. Wilkerson and freshman Macy Littler was both named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
Campbell Reaches Career Win 650
Head Coach Brian Campbell, the winningest coach in program history with 390 wins, picked up his the 650th victory of his coaching career on March12 in YSU's 5-3 win over Akron. Campbell, who has 675 career victories, is a three-time Horizon League Coach of the Year winning the award in 2012, 2021, and 2024. This season, he led the Penguins to a 20-4 Horizon League record and tied the program single-season wins record with 36. In 2021, Campbell led the Penguins to the first regular-season conference championship in program history with a 36-15 overall record and a 28-8 mark in league play. He has led the Penguins to six 30-win seasons and is the only coach in school history to win at least 30 games in consecutive seasons - 2021, 2022 and 2016, 2017. Since the start of the 2021 season, Youngstown State has an overall record of 131-81 for a .618 winning percentage.
Home Sweet Home
Since the Penguins began playing their home games at the YSU Softball Field in 2014, they have found a lot of success in their home ballpark. Youngstown State is 131-66 in 197 games in its on-campus facility for a .665 winning percentage. YSU secured its 100th victory at the complex with a 5-2 victory over Green Bay on April 23, 2022. Youngstown State owns a 15-3 home record this season including an 11-1 mark in league play, and have reached double digits in wins in nine of the 10 seasons that they've played at the YSU Softball Complex (no home games were played in 2020). Youngstown State has a 85-37 mark (.697) in Horizon League regular-season games played at the YSU Softball Field. The Penguins are 42-11 in conference regular-season contests played on their turf over the last three seasons.
Easy E
Youngstown State senior Elyssa Imler, who posted a .444 batting average in league play, ranked second in the league in average and scored 16 runs with five doubles, a home run and 15 RBIs. She also posted a slugging percentage of .556 with an on-base percentage of .458 for an OPS of 1.024. Imler is just the fourth person in program history to earn player-of-the-year honors and the first YSU player since Miranda Castiglione in 2014 to earn the league's top player award.
Holding Leads Late
Youngstown State has been stellar holding on to late leads. The Penguins own a record of 28-1 when leading after the fourth, 25-1 after the fifth, and 26-1 after the sixth inning.
Score Early
The Penguins have been success this season by scoring runs early in the game. Youngstown State has outscored its opponents, 165-105, through the first four innings of a game. The Penguins best inning to score runs has been the fourth with 56 runs scored. Youngstown State is also 17-4 when it scores in the first inning.
Historic Howell
Senior Sophie Howell, a three-time league pitcher of the week, tied for the league lead with 14 wins and ranked third with 102 strikeouts and fourth with a 2.07 earned-run average. Howell also set the YSU single-season overall wins record with 23, and she became just the third pitcher in program history to record at least 50 career wins (50) with 500 career strikeouts (512). Her 187 strikeouts this year also rank fifth on the single-season chart and her 1.88 overall ERA is tied for eighth. She is the first YSU pitcher to be named to the all-league first team since Elle Buffenbarger in 2021, and she is just the fourth YSU pitcher to garnered first-team honors.
Can't Con Conchetta
Senior Conchetta Rinaldi posted an impressive .400 batting average in league play that rank ninth in the circuit. She also drove in 18 runs with six doubles a home run and nine runs scored. An overall .321 hitter this year, Rinaldi also posted a .529 slugging percentage in conference play.
Couple Top Frosh
Freshman Lydia Wilkerson was one of the top freshmen in the Horizon League in 2024. She batted an impressive .377 in league play with 10 runs scored, four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Wilkerson ranked 15th in the league in batting average and 13th with a .442 on-base percentage. Classmate Macy Littler posted a solid .296 batting average in Horizon League play while scoring eight time with a double, a triple and eight RBIs. She also stole four bases. Littler and Wilkerson are the 14th and 15th YSU players named to the all-freshman/all-newcomer team since the 2010 season.
Ryan's Hope
Senior Devan Ryan turned a solid season in the circle posting an overall record 8-2 with a 3.42 earned-run average. In league play, Ryan went 5-1 with a 2.49 ERA and limited opponents to a .240 batting average.
RISP-y Business
The Penguins have been solid at the plate with runners in scoring position this season. As a team, Youngstown State posted a .310 average with runners in scoring position. Elyssa Imler leads the squad with a .426 average while Conchetta Rinaldi is batting .389 with RISP. Jillian Jakse, who has 11 two-out RBIs, is batting .367 with runners in scoring position.
Hailey's Comet
Senior Hailey Niederkohr led the Horizon League with five triples and drove in 17 runs in league play. Niederkohr has six triples overall and became just the third player in school history to record at least six triples in a season. She is also the first with six triples since Haley Thomas in 2010.
Get to Three
When Youngstown State scores at least three runs, chances are highly in favor of a Penguins victory. The Penguins own a 29-6 overall record when scoring at least three runs in a game. YSU is just 7-9 when scoring less than three runs.
Guins Dig Dingers
Eight different players have combined for Youngstown State's 25 home runs this season. Graduate Sara Fessler leads the squad with nine dingers and sophomore Kennedy Dean eight. Five of Fessler's came in league play while Dean cranked four against league opponents. Only eight players in program history have hit at least 10 home runs in a season. The last YSU player to belt 10 or more home runs was Nikki Saibene in 2021. The YSU single-season home run record is 13 set by Cali Mikovich in 2016.
Run, Sara, Run
Senior Sara Fessler has reached base a total of 90 times this season. She has 46 hits, 32 walks, nine hit by pitches and reached on an error three times. She has scored 44 runs this year and has scored 48.9 percent of the time she reaches base. Her 44 runs scored also rank third on the YSU single-season list.
Penguins Picked Fourth
The Youngstown State softball team was predicted to finish fourth in the Horizon League after a vote by the league's head coaches. The Penguins earned 48 points and finished behind Northern Kentucky and Oakland, who were picked tied for first with 75 points, and Robert Morris, who was third. Green Bay earned 43 points to place fifth while IUPUI was sixth with 37 points, Cleveland State was seventh with 32, Purdue Fort Wayne ranked eighth with 21 points and Detroit Mercy was ninth with 10 points.
Place. Team (First Place Votes) – Points
T1. Northern Kentucky (5) – 75
T1. Oakland (4) – 75
3. RMU – 64
4. Youngtown State – 48
5. Green Bay – 43
6. IUPUI – 37
7. Cleveland State – 32
8. Purdue Fort Wayne – 21
9. Detroit Mercy – 10
