Penguins Conclude Road Stretch at Pitt on Wednesday

Wednesday, March 12

Pittsburgh, PA

3 p.m.

Youngstown State University

Pitt

Photo by: Bryson Chavez

Penguins Conclude Road Stretch at Pitt on Wednesday

3/11/2025 12:41:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

The Youngstown State baseball team (1-13) will conclude its early-season road stretch on Wednesday at 3 p.m. with a midweek contest against Pitt (9-5) at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Wednesday's game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra while live audio will be available at YSNLive.com. Live stats will be available through links posted on YSUsports.com and fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State at Pitt

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Wednesday March 12 \| 3 PM	Charles L. Cost Field Pittsburgh, Pa.	ACC Network Extra	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

Senior right-hander Harun Pelja is scheduled to make his first start as a Penguin on Wednesday. The transfer from Division II Spring Hill College has tossed 6.2 innings over three relief appearances through the first four weeks of the 2025 season. The Melbourne, Australia, native allowed two runs, one of them earned, without allowing a hit over 2.1 innings of relief to earn the win in YSU's 8-5 victory at Abilene Christian on Feb. 23.
Youngstown State has dropped eight straight decisions after being swept in a three-game series at Gardner-Webb this past weekend. The Penguins fell 7-5 in the series opener on Friday before dropping a 3-0 decision on Saturday. The Runnin' Bulldogs rallied late for an 8-4 victory in the series finale on Sunday.
Senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum ranked second in the Horizon League with a .412 batting average, 21 total hits and a .492 on-base percentage at the outset of the week. The Seattle, Wash., native also ranked third in slugging percentage (.725) and OPS (1.217), fourth in home runs (4) and RBIs (14), sixth in doubles (4) and seventh in runs scored (11). Fossum has hit safely in six straight games entering Wednesday's contest at Pitt.
Redshirt sophomore utility player Nathan Beckley is batting .325 and slugging .500 through the first 14 games of the 2025 season. The transfer from Golden West College ranked in the top 10 in the Horizon League in batting average (.325), on-base percentage (.413) and RBIs (11) at the start of the week.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman Brady Shannon went yard twice in the second game of a doubleheader at UTSA on March 1 for his first two home runs in a Penguin uniform. The Youngstown, Ohio, native and dual-sport athlete at YSU has played in 11 games and made eight starts in his first action on the diamond since his freshman year at UCF in 2023. Shannon is also a quarterback on the YSU football team. He blasted a two-run go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth inning in the series finale at Gardner-Webb on Sunday. Shannon ranked tied-for-sixth in the Horizon League with three home runs and eighth with a .548 slugging percentage heading into the week of action.
Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring leads the Penguins and ranks second in the Horizon League with 20.1 innings pitched heading into the week. The Canfield, Ohio, native also ranked seventh in the league with 15 strikeouts at the outset of the week. Redshirt senior right-hander JJ Tylicki ranked tied-for-third in the Horizon League with a team-high 17 strikeouts at the start of the week.
Youngstown State has won two of the last three and six of the last 10 meetings with Pitt overall. The two teams split a pair of meetings last season with YSU earning a 7-6 win in 10 innings at Charles L. Cost Field for its fourth consecutive victory over the Panthers in Pittsburgh. Youngstown State has a win over Pitt in each of the last five seasons that the two programs have faced off.
YSU earned its first victory of the 2025 season after an 8-5 triumph in the series finale at Abilene Christian on Feb 23. Five Penguins recorded multiple hits as YSU outhit ACU 13-3 for its first victory under new head coach Trevor Charpie.
YSU is under the direction of first-year head coach Trevor Charpie. The Anaheim Hills, Calif., native was named the 10th head coach in program history in June after serving as an assistant for the Penguins during the 2024 season. At 31 years old, Charpie is the third-youngest Division I head coach in the country in 2025.
YSU's 2025 roster features a large group of 21 newcomers as well as 19 returners from last year's team that finished as the runner-up at the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship. The Penguins won four games in the Horizon League Tournament for the first time since winning the championship in 2014.

Previewing Pitt

A Win on Wednesday Would...

Improve YSU's record to 2-13 on the season.
Snap an eight-game losing streak.
Give YSU three wins in the last four meetings with Pitt.
Be YSU's fifth straight victory over Pitt in Pittsburgh.
Be the second victory in head coach Trevor Charpie's career.

Scouting The Panthers

Pitt is 9-5 overall on the 2025 season after losing two of three games at East Tennessee State this past weekend. The Panthers swept Eastern Michigan in Florida on opening weekend before winning two of three games in series against Monmouth and UNC Greensboro.
Pitt was picked 14th out of 16 teams in the 2025 ACC Baseball Preseason Poll after going 26-29 overall and 10-20 ACC play last season. The Panthers returned 14 lettermen from last season while adding 22 newcomers in 2025.
Senior first baseman Luke Cantwell is batting .346 and slugging .500 with six doubles, 11 RBIs and a team-high 19 walks. Sophomore infielder Ryan Zuckerman is batting .344 and slugging .656 while leading Pitt with 21 total hits, seven doubles, four home runs and 16 RBIs.
Sophomore right-hander Aidan Coleman is scheduled to start for the Panthers on Wednesday. He owns a 1-1 record and a 5.84 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 12.1 innings over four appearances and two starts.

Series History

Overall: Pitt leads 39-13-1
Charpie: 0-0 // H: 5-15 // A: 8-24-1 // N: 0-0
Current Win Streak: 1 by Pitt
Last Meeting: May 7, 2024 (L, 1-23)
First Meeting: April 30, 1986 (L, 2-14)
YSU has won two of the last three and six of the last 10 meetings with Pitt overall. The Guins have a win over the Panthers in each of the last five seasons the programs have faced off. YSU has also won four straight meetings between the teams at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins picked up a 7-6 win in 10 innings in Pittsburgh in the first meeting last season before the Panthers earned a 23-1 victory at Eastwood Field later in the campaign.

Recapping Last Week

at Gardner-Webb – Friday, March 7 // L, 5-7

Gardner-Webb scored three late runs to break a 4-4 tie and pick up a 7-5 win over Youngstown State in the series opener on Friday evening at Bill Masters Field in Boiling Springs, N.C.
The Penguins trailed 4-1 before tying the score with one run in the sixth and two in the seventh. The Runnin' Bulldogs struck once in the seventh and two in the eighth to regain the lead and held on for the series-opening victory.
Kyle Fossum went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs while Eli Brown delivered an RBI single as the Penguins bested the Runnin' Bulldogs in the hit column, 7-6.
YSU starter Jacob Gehring allowed four runs on six hits with three strikeouts over a season-high 5.2 innings. Sloan Ulrich was responsible for one run out of the bullpen while Aidan English surrendered two runs in one inning of work.

at Gardner-Webb – Saturday, March 8 // L, 0-3

Youngstown State dropped a 3-0 decision to Gardner-Webb on Saturday afternoon in the second game of a three-game weekend series at Bill Masters Field in Boiling Springs, N.C.
The Runnin' Bulldogs scored once in the first and twice in the second while keeping the Penguins off the scoreboard to secure the series victory. Youngstown State got a runner into scoring position in each of its final two at bats but was unable to capitalize. The Guins outhit the Runnin' Bulldogs 7-5 but left 12 runners on base in the contest.
YSU starter JJ Tylicki allowed three runs on three hits with four strikeouts over a season-high five innings of work. The redshirt senior right-hander settled in to toss three straight scoreless frames as he retired the side in order in each of his final three innings on the mound. Brandon Mikos faced the minimum over three scoreless innings of relief as he induced three inning-ending double plays.
Jack Johnson went 2-for-4 as the only Penguin with multiple hits while Brady Shannon doubled and walked twice.

at Gardner-Webb – Sunday, March 9 // L, 4-8

Gardner-Webb scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally for an 8-4 victory over Youngstown State in the series finale on Sunday at Bill Masters Field in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Brady Shannon hit a go-ahead two-run home run with two outs in the top of the eighth to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead. The Runnin' Bulldogs responded by scoring five times in the home half of the inning and held on to secure the three-game series sweep.
Kyle Fossum singled, walked twice and scored a run while Cole Smith delivered an RBI double for the Penguins offensively.
YSU starter Tyler Heflin allowed three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts over a career-high 5.1 innings on the mound. The freshman right-hander retired the side in order in the fifth as he blanked the Runnin' Bulldogs in four different frames. Braden Gebhardt suffered the loss after surrendering three runs over two innings of relief while Aidan English was tagged with a pair of unearned runs.

Up Next

Youngstown State is scheduled to play its 2025 home and Horizon League opener against Milwaukee at Eastwood Field on Friday at 6 p.m. The Penguins and Panthers will procced to play on Saturday at 3 p.m. and on Sunday at noon as part of the three-game series.