Tuesday, April 1
Niles, Ohio
5 p.m.
Youngstown State University
vs
Toledo
Photo by: Robert Hayes
Penguins Return Home to Host Toledo on Tuesday
3/31/2025 11:44:00 AM | Baseball
The Youngstown State baseball team (4-22, 2-7 Horizon League) will return home to Eastwood Field on Tuesday to host Toledo (9-17, 4-8 MAC) in a non-conference contest at 5 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 vs. Toledo
| Opponent | Date | Location | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tuesday April 1 | 5 PM ET |
Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio |
YSNLive.com | Live Stats |
A Glimpse at the Guins
- Redshirt junior right-hander Brandon Mikos will take the mound to make his seventh appearance and fourth 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. He matched his career high with six innings pitched at Bowling Green on March 25. 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 dropped five straight contests after being swept in a three-game Horizon League series at Wright State this past weekend. The Raiders won the series opener 10-9 on Friday before defeating the Penguins by scores of 9-5 and 10-9 in a doubleheader on Saturday.
- Senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum leads the Horizon League in batting average (.465), slugging percentage (.889), on-base percentage (.561), OPS (1.450), hits (46), doubles (12) and home runs (10). The Seattle, Wash., native also ranks third in the league in runs scored (29), fourth in RBIs (29) and fourth in walks (19). Fossum also holds national rankings of fifth in batting average, fifth in slugging percentage, seventh in on-base percentage, 14th in hits per game, 14th in total bases, 20th in hits and 22nd in doubles.
- Fossum is slashing .579/.660/1.105 with 22 hits including eight doubles and four home runs with 11 RBIs over nine games in Horizon League play. He was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on March 25. Fossum has hit safely in 11 straight games while reaching base safely in 18 consecutive contests. He leads the Penguins with 15 multi-hit games and nine multiple RBI performances.
- Redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman Brady Shannon has now hit multiple home runs in a game twice through the first seven 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. He hit his sixth home run of the season in the series finale at Wright State on Saturday. Shannon is batting .284 and slugging .593 with 12 RBIs while having hit safely in each of his last six games and reached base safely in 14 consecutive contests. He ranks second in the Horizon League with two triples, sixth with a .593 slugging percentage, seventh with six home runs and ninth with a team-high seven stolen bases.
- Redshirt senior infielder Tommy Rover has hit safely in five straight games to improve his batting average to .298 through the first seven weeks of the 2025 season. The Brentwood, Calif., native is batting .324 and slugging .676 with three home runs and 11 RBIs over nine games in Horizon League play.
- Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring ranks second in the Horizon League with a team-high 38 innings pitched heading into the week. The Canfield, Ohio, native also ranks tied-for-fourth in the league with 31 strikeouts. Gehring struck out a career-high nine batters over six innings in a no-decision against Purdue Fort Wayne on March 21.
- Redshirt senior right-hander JJ Tylicki ranks second in the Horizon League with a team-high 36 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 nine doubles and 19 walks. Junior outfielder Brayden Kuriger ranks tied-for-second in the circuit with two triples.
- 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
- Admission for Tuesday's game will be $5 at the front gate, which will open approximately one hour prior to first pitch.
- Tuesday's game will feature YSU T-Shirt Giveaway for the first 50 YSU students.
Previewing Toledo
A Win on Tuesday Would…
- Improve YSU's overall record to 5-22.
- Improve YSU's home record to 4-4.
- Snap a five-game losing skid.
- Snap a four-game losing streak in the series with the Rockets.
Scouting The Rockets
- Toledo is 9-17 overall and 4-8 in Mid-American Conference play after being swept in a three-game MAC series at Kent State this past weekend. The Rockets had won three straight games before suffering a 4-2 loss to the Golden Flashes on Friday.
- Toledo was picked sixth in the 2025 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll after going 27-32 overall and 16-14 in conference play last season.
- Senior outfielder Caden Konczak is batting .278 and slugging .522 while leading the Rockets with six home runs. Redshirt sophomore infielder Troy Sudbrook is batting .252 and slugging .437 while leading Toledo with 26 hits and 17 RBIs. The Rockets own a team batting average of .218 heading into Tuesday's contest.
- Freshman right-hander Braden Curry boasts a 1-0 record and one save with a 2.11 ERA and a team-high 26 strikeouts in 21.1 innings pitched over eight appearances out of the bullpen. Senior right-hander Logan Jones has a 1-1 record, a 3.05 ERA and four saves with 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched over a team-high nine relief appearances.
Series History
- Overall: Youngstown State leads 18-13
- Charpie: 0-0 // H: 9-8 // A: 8-4 // N: 1-1
- Current Win Streak: 4 by Toledo
- Last Meeting: April 9, 2024 (L, 8-18)
- First Meeting: May 11, 1993 (W, 7-4)
- The Rockets have won four straight in the series after sweeping a pair of meetings with the Penguins during the 2024 season. Toledo won a 19-6 decision at Scott Park in Toledo before collecting an 18-8 win at Eastwood Field.
- YSU's last victory in the series was a 5-3 triumph on April 10, 2019.
Recapping Wright State
at Wright State – Friday, March 28 // L, 9-10
- Youngstown State scored five two-out runs during a furious ninth-inning rally but came up short to Wright State 10-9 in the Horizon League series opener on Friday at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.
- The Penguins trailed 4-1 before scoring once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to tie the contest. The Raiders went back in front with a pair of runs in the fifth and added four runs in the sixth to take 10-4 edge into the ninth inning.
- Brady Shannon went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, two stolen bases and two runs scored while Kyle Fossum was 2-for-5 with his 10th home run of the season. Jay Wrona went 2-for-4 with an RBI double while Tommy Rover and Jack Johnson each added RBI singles.
- YSU starter Jacob Gehring suffered the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks over 4.2 innings. Braden Gebhardt surrendered four runs on three hits with five strikeouts over 3.1 innings of relief.
at Wright State – Saturday, March 29 (Game 1) // L, 5-9
- Wright State struck for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 5-5 tie and defeat Youngstown State 9-5 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Nischwitz Stadium.
- The Penguins held leads of 1-0, 3-2 and 5-4 in a back-and-forth affair before the Raiders scored four times during a decisive seventh-inning rally and held on to secure the series victory.
- Rover hit his third home run of the season and drove in two runs while Fossum had two hits including an RBI double. Nathan Beckley and Garrett Cutting added two hits apiece while Wrona recorded an RBI single, two walks and a run scored.
- YSU starter JJ Tylicki allowed four runs on four hits with five strikeouts and five walks over five innings in a no-decision. Sloan Ulrich took the loss after surrendering three runs on four hits in 1.2 innings while a pair of runs in the seventh went on Aidan English's record.
at Wright State – Saturday, March 29 (Game 2) // L, 9-10
- Wright State outslugged Youngstown State for a 10-9 victory in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Nischwitz Stadium.
- The Raiders led 7-4 after two innings and 10-7 after five frames. The Penguins continued to battle with single tallies in the sixth and the ninth but came up short as the Raiders completed the three-game series sweep.
- Shannon went 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season while Rover, Cole Smith and Johnson added two hits apiece for the Penguins, who were outhit 12-11.
- YSU starter Tyler Heflin suffered the loss after allowing seven runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. Phil Brennaman surrendered three runs with a season-high six strikeouts over a season-high 3.2 innings on the mound while Colin Casteel tossed 2.1 scoreless innings.
Up Next
Youngstown State will jump back into Horizon League play on Friday when it begins a three-game series at Oakland. The Penguins and Golden Grizzlies will open the series on Friday at 3 p.m. before proceeding to play on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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