Penguins Conclude Homestand with Three-Game HL Series vs. Mastodons

Friday, March 21

Niles, Ohio

4 p.m.

Youngstown State University

Purdue Fort Wayne

Photo by: Robert Hayes

Penguins Conclude Homestand with Three-Game HL Series vs. Mastodons

3/20/2025 1:35:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

The Youngstown State baseball team (3-16, 1-2 Horizon League) will conclude its seven-game homestand at Eastwood Field this weekend with a three-game Horizon League series against Purdue Fort Wayne (1-18, 0-3 Horizon League). The Penguins and Mastodons will open the series on Friday at 4 p.m. before proceeding to play on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Live audio for all three 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. Purdue Fort Wayne

Date	Location	Audio	Live Stats
Friday March 21 \| 4 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Saturday March 22 \| 1 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats
Sunday March 23 \| 1 PM ET	Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring will take the mound in the series opener on Friday while redshirt senior right-hander JJ Tylicki will start game two of the series on Saturday. Freshman right-hander Tyler Heflin is scheduled to start for the Penguins in the series finale on Sunday.
YSU has won two straight games after a 15-5 non-conference victory over Mercyhurst in seven innings on Tuesday at Eastwood Field. The Penguins drew 15 walks, posted 11 hits and scored a season-high 15 runs. YSU's 15 walks rank as the second most in a game in program history, one shy of the school record of 16. The Penguins drew 15 walks in a game for the first time since walking 15 times at Oakland on May 6, 2001.
Senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum leads the Horizon League with a .449 batting average and a .547 on-base percentage while ranking second in hits (31), third in slugging (.855), OPS (1.402) and home runs (7), fourth in doubles (7), RBIs (21) and walks (13) and fifth in runs scored (18). The Seattle, Wash., native also holds national ranks of 19th in batting average and 21st in slugging percentage heading into the weekend.
Fossum is slashing .750/.800/1.500 with nine hits in 12 at bats over three games played in Horizon League action. Fossum recorded three doubles, two home runs and four RBIs during the league-opening series against Milwaukee last weekend. He has hit safely in four straight games and in 10 of his last 11 contests. Fossum also leads the Penguins with 10 multi-hit games and seven games with multiple RBIs while reaching base in 11 consecutive contests.
Redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman Brady Shannon has now hit multiple home runs in a game twice through the first 19 games of the 2025 season. The Youngstown, Ohio, native and dual-sport athlete at YSU 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. Shannon is also a quarterback on the YSU football team.
Shannon hit a pair of solo home runs in YSU's 10-7 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday to push his season total to five through 16 games played and 13 starts. He is batting .280 and slugging .660 with nine RBIs while having hit safely in eight straight games. Shannon ranks sixth in the Horizon League with a .660 slugging percentage and five home runs while ranking seventh with a 1.039 OPS.
Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring leads YSU and ranks second in the Horizon League with 27.1 innings pitched heading into the weekend. The Canfield, Ohio, native also ranks tied-for-seventh in the league with 18 strikeouts.
Redshirt senior right-hander JJ Tylicki ranks second in the Horizon League with a team-high 26 strikeouts heading into the weekend. The Shawnee, Kan., native recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in the second game of a doubleheader against Milwaukee on Friday.
Freshman catcher Caleb Hadley hit a home run on the second pitch of his first career plate appearance in YSU's 8-5 victory on at Abilene Christian on Feb 23. The Southington, Ohio, native hit his second-career home run in YSU's 15-5 victory over Mercyhurst on Tuesday.
Senior infielder Cole Smith ranks tied-for-second in the Horizon League with a team-high eight doubles while also ranking second with a team-high 15 walks and tied-for-eighth with 15 runs scored.
Junior outfielder Brayden Kuriger ranks seventh in the Horizon League with a team-high five stolen bases and four home runs while ranking eighth in the league with 16 RBIs and 19 hits. The Gonzales, La., native has also hit safely in five straight games entering this weekend's series.
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 baseball 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.

Promotions & Fan Information

Eastwood Field
2025 YSU Baseball Promotional Schedule
Tickets for each game will be available for $5 at the front gate, which will open approximately one hour prior to first pitch.
Friday's series opener will feature $2 hot dogs and Pete the Penguin Growth Chart Giveaway.
Saturday's game will include $4 16 oz. beer, and it will also be a "Varsity Club Youngstown Saturday" with fans receiving a $5 off app coupon if YSU scores five runs or more.
Sunday's series finale will feature a Lunch Bag Giveaway.

Previewing Purdue Fort Wayne

A Win on Friday Would...

Improve YSU to 4-16 overall and 2-2 in HL play.
Give YSU its third consecutive victory.
Improve YSU's home record to 3-2.
Give YSU its second straight win in the series with Purdue Fort Wayne.

Scouting The Mastodons

Purdue Fort Wayne is 1-18 overall and 0-3 in Horizon League play heading into this weekend's series. The Mastodons have lost 10 straight games after a 19-18 loss at Bowling Green on Tuesday. Purdue Fort Wayne was swept in a three-game series at Northern Kentucky last weekend to open league play.
Purdue Fort Wayne was picked sixth in the 2025 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll after going 19-37 overall and 11-19 in Horizon League play last season.
Sophomore infielder Justin Osterhouse is batting .296 and slugging .493 while leading the 'Dons with 21 hits, four home runs and 12 RBIs. Senior first baseman Jackson Micheels leads Purdue Fort Wayne with four doubles while ranking second with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Senior right-hander Dillon Fischer owns an 0-4 record and an 8.54 ERA with a team-high 17 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched over six appearances and five starts. Junior left-hander Zane Danielson has an 0-3 record and a 4.50 ERA with 13 strikeouts in a team-high 28 innings pitched over five starts on the mound.

Series History

Overall: Youngstown State leads 21-10
Charpie: 0-0 // H: 5-5 // A: 14-5 // N: 2-0
Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
Last Meeting: May 23, 2024 (W, 12-10)
First Meeting: April 17, 2004 (W, 6-1)
YSU went 4-3 against Purdue Fort Wayne during the 2024 season with both teams winning two of three games on the other's home field during the regular season. The Penguins won a 12-10 decision in the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, in the most recent meeting.
The Penguins dropped two of three games against the Mastodons at Eastwood Field last March before winning two of three games at Mastodon Field in late April.

Recapping Last Game

vs. Mercyhurst – Tuesday, March 18 // W, 15-5

Youngstown State drew 15 walks and posted 11 hits while scoring a season-high 15 runs in a 15-5 midweek victory over Mercyhurst on Tuesday evening at Eastwood Field.
The Penguins trailed 2-0 after the top of the second inning before outscoring the Lakers 15-3 the rest of the way to secure the non-conference victory in seven innings in the first meeting between the programs since 1985.
YSU's 15 walks rank as the second most in a game in program history, one shy of the school record of 16. The Penguins drew 15 walks in a game for the first time since walking 15 times at Oakland on May 6, 2001.
Brayden Kuriger went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Penguins offensively. Kyle Fossum hit a three-run blast for his seventh homer of the season while Caleb Hadley hit a home run, drove in two runs and scored three times. Tommy Rover had two walks, an RBI single and three runs scored while Garrett Cutting added a pair of hits and scored three times.
YSU starter Brandon Mikos allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts over four innings to earn his first win of the season. Braden Gebhardt, Aidan English, Sloan Ulrich and Nolan Kubilus combined to surrender two runs on four hits over the final three frames.

Up Next

Youngstown State will begin a four-game road swing on Tuesday with a non-conference contest at Bowling Green. First pitch at Steller Field in Bowling Green is scheduled for 3 p.m.