The Youngstown State baseball team (4-18, 2-4 Horizon League) will begin a four-game road swing with a non-conference contest at Bowling Green (16-7, 7-2 MAC) on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Live audio will be available at YSNLive.com while live stats will be available through links posted on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State at Bowling Green

Opponent	Date	Location	Audio	Live Stats
	Tuesday March 25 | 3 PM ET	Steller Field Bowling Green, Ohio	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Redshirt junior right-hander Brandon Mikos will take the ball for the Penguins on Tuesday to make his sixth appearance and third start of the season. The Canfield, Ohio, native allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts over four innings to earn his first win of the season in YSU's 15-5 victory over Mercyhurst on March 18. Mikos was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on March 12 after tossing three scoreless innings of relief at Gardner-Webb on March 8.
• The Penguins have won three of their last five games after going 2-2 this past week at Eastwood Field. YSU defeated Mercyhurst 15-5 in seven innings in a non-conference contest on Tuesday before falling 5-4 in the Horizon League series opener with Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday. The Penguins rallied from seven runs down to earn a 12-11 victory in the first game of a doubleheader with the Mastodons on Sunday before dropping a 20-16 decision in the nightcap and series finale.
• Senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum leads the Horizon League and ranks sixth in the nation with a .470 batting average. The Seattle, Wash., native also leads the Horizon League and ranks ninth nationally with an .892 slugging percentage. Fossum also holds national rankings of 15th in hits per game (1.77), 15th in on-base percentage (.559), 15th in doubles (11), 16th in total bases (74) and 20th in hits (39).
• Fossum leads the Horizon League in batting average (.470), slugging percentage (.892), on-base-percentage (.559), OPS (1.451), hits (39), doubles (11) and home runs (8). He also ranks third in the league in RBIs (25), fifth in runs scored (23) and sixth in  walks (15). Fossum has hit safely in seven straight games while reaching base safely in 14 consecutive contests. He leads the Penguins with 12 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI performances.
• Fossum totaled seven hits, four RBIs and five runs scored in 11 at bats in Sunday's Horizon League doubleheader with Purdue Fort Wayne. The senior right fielder went 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored in YSU's 12-11 victory in game one before going 4-for-7 with a three-run home run and three runs scored in game two. Fossum was a triple shy of the cycle in the nightcap while matching his career high with four hits. Fossum is slashing .654/.710/1.269 with 17 hits in 26 at bats over six games in Horizon League play. He has hit seven doubles and three home runs while driving in eight runs against league opponents.
• Senior outfielder and Nicholls transfer Brayden Kuriger has now hit safely in eight straight games to improve his batting average to .301 through 22 games played. The Gonzales, La., native ranks second in the Horizon League with two triples while ranking seventh with 20 RBIs and ninth with 25 hits. Kuriger batted .563 and slugged .813 with nine hits including two doubles and a triple over four games played this past week.
• Redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman Brady Shannon has now hit multiple home runs in a game twice through the first six weeks 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 also hit a pair of solo home runs in YSU's 10-7 victory over Milwaukee on March 15 to push his season total to five through 19 games played and 16 starts. He is batting .250 and slugging .547 with 10 RBIs while having hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games. Shannon ranks seventh in the Horizon League with five home runs and 10th with a .547 slugging percentage.
• Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring leads the Horizon League with 33.1 innings pitched heading into the week. The Canfield, Ohio, native also ranks tied-for-fourth in the league with 27 strikeouts. Gehring struck out a career-high nine batters over six innings in a no-decision against Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday.
• Redshirt senior right-hander JJ Tylicki ranks second in the Horizon League with a team-high 31 strikeouts heading into the week. The Shawnee, Kan., native recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in the second game of a doubleheader against Milwaukee on March 14.
• Senior infielder Cole Smith ranks tied-for-fourth in the Horizon League with eight doubles while also ranking tied-for-third with a team-high 19 walks. Redshirt junior shortstop Garrett Cutting ranks seventh in the Horizon League with 20 runs scored while also ranking 10th with 13 walks.
• 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.

Previewing Bowling Green

A Win on Tuesday Would…

• Give YSU four wins in its last six games.
• Improve YSU's overall record to 5-18.
• Give the Penguins two wins in their last three meetings with the Falcons.

Scouting The Falcons

• Bowling Green enters the week at 16-7 overall and 7-2 in Mid-American Conference play after dropping two of three games to Kent State at Steller Field this past weekend. The Falcons had won 11 straight games before suffering a 20-4 setback to the Golden Flashes on Saturday.
• Bowling Green was picked fourth out of 11 teams in the 2025 MAC Baseball Preseason Poll after going 33-20 overall and 24-6 in MAC play in 2024. The Falcons claimed the MAC regular season title last season.
• Sophomore catcher Garrett Wright is batting .415 and slugging .707 with a team-high 34 hits and 25 runs scored. Junior outfielder DJ Newman is batting .405 and slugging .608 while sophomore infielder Brady Birchmeier leads the Falcons with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. Bowling Green leads the MAC in hits and stolen bases while ranking second with a .309 team batting average.
• Redshirt freshman right-hander Nate Kress will make his first start of the season for BGSU on Tuesday. He owns a 2-0 record and a 4.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched over nine appearances out of the bullpen. Senior right-hander Connar Penrod has a 2-1 record and a 1.50 ERA with five saves and 22 strikeouts in 12 innings over nine relief appearances.

Series History

• Overall: Youngstown State leads 13-7
• Charpie: 0-0 // H: 7-2 // A: 6-5 // N: 0-0
• Current Win Streak: 1 by Bowling Green
• Last Meeting: April 16, 2024 (L, 9-12)
• First Meeting: March 21, 1989 (L, 6-14)
• Tuesday's contest will mark the 21st all-time meeting between YSU and Bowling Green in a series that dates back to 1989. The Falcons won a 12-9 decision at Steller Field in Bowling Green last April in the most-recent encounter.
• The Penguins picked up a 5-1 victory over the Falcons in the last meeting at Eastwood Field on May 9, 2023. YSU had won 10 straight games over BGSU before a 15-5 loss at Steller Field in Bowling Green on March 26, 2019. The Falcons had won three straight encounters until the Penguins' 5-1 win during the 2023 campaign.

Recapping Purdue Fort Wayne

vs. Purdue Fort Wayne – Friday, March 21, 2025 // L, 4-5

• Purdue Fort Wayne scored three times in the top of ninth inning to overcome a 3-2 deficit and defeat Youngstown State 5-4 in the Horizon League series opener on Friday at Eastwood Field.
• The Penguins broke 1-1 tie when Tommy Rover hit a two-run home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. YSU held a 3-2 advantage heading into the top of the ninth, and Purdue Fort Wayne struck for three runs to take its first lead the contest. The Guins pushed across a single run in the bottom of the ninth, but the 'Dons held on for the series-opening victory.
• Cole Smith went 3-for-4, Rover hit a two-run home run and Brayden Kuriger added two hits and a walk for the Penguins, who bested the Mastodons in the hit column 8-7.
• Jacob Gehring allowed two runs on four hits with a career-high nine strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision. The senior right-hander retired the first six batters he faced. Sloan Ulrich and Phil Brennaman each tossed a scoreless inning of relief while Mikey Rodriques suffered the loss after all three of PFW's runs in the ninth went on his record.

vs. Purdue Fort Wayne – March 23, 2025 (Game 1) // W, 12-11

• Youngstown State scored nine runs over its final three at bats to overcome a seven-run deficit and defeat Purdue Fort Wayne 12-11 in game one of Sunday's doubleheader at Eastwood Field.
• The Penguins trailed 10-3 after the top of the sixth inning before striking twice in the sixth, six times in the seventh and once in the eighth on their way to evening the three-game series with Mastodons.
• Kyle Fossum went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI while Garrett Cutting was 3-for-4 with an RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Brayden Kuriger, Tommy Rover and Jay Wrona each drove in a pair of runs.
• YSU starter JJ Tylicki allowed seven runs, four of them earned, on three hits and eight walks over 3.1 innings on the mound. Aidan English permitted three runs over two innings of relief while Colin Casteel was responsible for one run with three strikeouts over 2.1 innings. Braden Gebhardt, who recorded the final out in the top of the eighth, retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the win for the Penguins.

vs. Purdue Fort Wayne – March 23, 2025 (Game 2) // L, 16-20

• Purdue Fort Wayne scored 11 runs in the top of the third inning on its way to defeating Youngstown State 20-16 in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader at Eastwood Field.
• The Penguins battled their way back into the contest after trailing 11-1 after three innings. YSU scored multiple runs in five of its last six at bats while posting season highs of 16 runs and 19 hits.
• Fossum finished 4-for-7 with a three-run home run and was a triple shy of the cycle. Beckley went 3-for-5 with a game-high four RBIs while Jack Johnson and Kuriger added three hits and two RBIs apiece.
• YSU starter Tyler Heflin took the loss after surrendering seven runs on six hits in two innings as one of eight pitchers to appear for the Penguins.

Up Next

Youngstown State will conclude its four-game road swing this weekend with a three-game Horizon League series at Wright State. The Penguins and Raiders will open the series on Friday at 3 p.m. before playing on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.