Tuesday, April 15
Erie, PA
2 p.m.
Youngstown State University
at
Mercyhurst
Photo by: Bryson Chavez
Penguins Begin Road Stretch Tuesday with Midweek at Mercyhurst
4/14/2025 2:50:00 PM | Baseball
The Youngstown State baseball team (8-26, 5-10 Horizon League) will begin a nine-game road stretch on Tuesday with a midweek non-conference contest at Mercyhurst (8-25, 7-11 NEC). First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field in Erie, Pa.
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 Mercyhurst
| Opponent | Date | Location | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tuesday April 15 | 2 PM ET |
Mercyhurst Baseball Field Erie, Pa. |
YSNLive.com | Live Stats |
A Glimpse at the Guins
- Freshman right-hander Tyler Heflin will take the ball to make his 10th overall appearance and seventh start of the season on Tuesday. The West Chester, Ohio, native has recorded 17 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched over his first nine outings.
- The Penguins will be looking for their second straight win after an 18-8 victory over Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League series finale on Sunday at Eastwood Field. YSU scored a season-high 18 runs on 17 hits on its way to an eight-inning win that snapped a four-game losing streak.
- Redshirt sophomore utility player Nathan Beckley went 3-for-5 with a career-high six RBIs on Sunday to become the first Penguin in more than two years to drive in six runs in a game. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native is the first Penguin to have at least six RBIs since Braeden O'Shaughnessy drove in six runs against Oakland on March 16, 2023. Beckley has now hit safely in five straight games to improve his batting average to .314 over 31 games played and 30 starts. He has made 17 starts at first base, six at third base, four in left field, two in right field and one as the designated hitter.
- Youngstown State will also be going for the season sweep of Mercyhurst after earning a 15-5 victory over the Lakers in seven innings in the first meeting on March 18 at Eastwood Field. YSU drew 15 walks in the first meeting with Mercyhurst, which ranks as the second most walks 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.
- The game on March 18 at Eastwood Field marked the first meeting on the diamond between YSU and Mercyhurst since May 14, 1985, in a series that dates back to the 1973 season. The Lakers are in their first season at the Division I level as a member of the Northeast Conference.
- Through games played on April 13, senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum leads the Horizon League in batting average (.426), slugging percentage (.891), on-base percentage (.534), OPS (1.425), hits (55), doubles (15) and home runs (15). The Seattle, Wash., native also ranks second in the league with 38 RBIs, 38 runs scored, and fifth with 27 walks. The senior is slashing .492/.597/1.066 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 17 RBIs over 15 games in Horizon League play. He was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on March 25.
- Fossum has become just the second player in program history to hit at least 15 home runs in a season, joining Andrew Kendrick, who set the single-season school record with 17 homers in 2017. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 19 games while reaching base safely in 25 of his last 26 consecutive contests. Fossum leads the Penguins with 19 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI performances.
- Redshirt senior infielder Tommy Rover has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games to improve his batting average to .333 over 24 games played. The Brentwood, Calif., native is batting .346 and slugging .712 with five home runs and 16 RBIs over 15 games in Horizon League action. Rover ranks fourth the Horizon League with a .509 on-base percentage, fourth with a 1.069 OPS, ninth with a .333 batting average and ninth with a .560 slugging percentage. He has also now reached base safely in 22 consecutive contests. Rover is also tied for the league lead having been hit by a pitch 13 times. That total currently ranks tied for the second most in a season in program history. Rover is the first Penguin to be hit by a pitch at least 13 times in a season since Anthony Porter was hit 13 times in 2008. Dustin Thomas was hit a school-record 15 times in 2006.
- Redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman Brady Shannon has now hit multiple home runs in a game twice through the first nine 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 is batting .275 and slugging .505 with 15 RBIs over 30 games played and 27 starts. Shannon ranks second in the Horizon League with two triples and ninth with six home runs while leading the Penguins with eight stolen bases.
- Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring ranks second in the Horizon League with 45 strikeouts and 50 innings pitched over nine starts. The Canfield, Ohio, native struck out a career-high nine batters over six innings against Purdue Fort Wayne on March 21. He allowed three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts while matching his season high with seven innings pitched to earn his first win of the season in YSU's 4-3 victory in the series opener at Oakland on April 4.
- Redshirt senior right-hander and Kansas transfer JJ Tylicki ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 43 strikeouts while ranking 10th with 34.1 innings pitched. The Shawnee, Kan., native picked up his first win of the season in YSU's 7-4 victory in game two of a doubleheader at Oakland on April 4. Tylicki fanned a career-high nine batters over five innings against Milwaukee on March 14.
- Freshman infielder Jay Wrona has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games while reaching base safely in 19 consecutive contests. Wrona is batting .328 and slugging .406 over 22 games played and 18 starts. The New Castle, Pa., native delivered the go-ahead RBI single in YSU's 4-3 series-opening win at Oakland on April 4.
- 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 in 2024. At 31, Charpie is the third-youngest Division I head baseball coach in the country in 2025.
Previewing Mercyhurst
A Win on Tuesday Would…
- Improve the Penguins to 9-26 overall.
- Give YSU its second straight victory.
- Give YSU its second straight win over Mercyhurst and the season sweep of the Lakers.
Scouting The Lakers
- Mercyhurst is 8-25 overall and 7-11 in Northeast Conference play in its first season as a Division I program. The Lakers dropped two of three games against Stonehill this past weekend in NEC play. Mercyhurst posted a 21-20 overall record and an 18-10 mark in PSAC action last season at the Division II level. The Lakers were picked seventh out of 11 teams in the 2025 NEC Preseason Poll.
- Senior outfielder Eric Chorba is batting .325 and slugging .533 while senior utility player Jayden Walker is batting .310 and slugging .515 with team highs of seven home runs and 23 RBIs. Senior outfielder Chris Juchno leads Mercyhurst with 17 stolen bases in 18 attempts. The Lakers own a team batting average of .232 heading into Tuesday's game.
- Senior right-hander Jacob Bazala boasts a 5-3 record, one save and a 5.11 ERA while leading Mercyhurst with 51 strikeouts and 44 innings pitched over a team-high 15 appearances and five starts. Sophomore left-hander Dylan Skidmore has struck out 20 batters over 22.1 innings pitched over 11 appearances out of the bullpen. The Lakers have a team ERA of 8.48 heading into Tuesday's contest.
Series History
- Overall: Youngstown State leads 29-11
- Charpie: 1-0 // H: 14-6 // A: 15-5 // N: 0-0
- Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
- Last Meeting: March 18, 2025 (W, 15-5)
- First Meeting: May 16, 1973 (W, 4-2)
- Youngstown State defeated Mercyhurst 15-5 in seven innings at Eastwood Field earlier this season on March 18 in the first meeting between the programs since the Lakers picked up a 3-2 win in the second game of a doubleheader in Erie, Pa., on May 14, 1985.
- The Penguins own a 29-11 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1973 season.
Recapping Northern Kentucky
vs. Northern Kentucky – Friday, April 11 // L, 2-3
- Northern Kentucky scored twice in the top of the eighth inning to defeat Youngstown State 3-2 in the Horizon League series opener on Friday evening at Eastwood Field.
- NKU scored first with a single run in the top of the fourth before Garrett Cutting's two-run home run in the home half of the inning to put the Penguins in front 2-1. The Norse struck for a pair of runs in the top of the eight and held on the series-opening victory.
- YSU starter Jacob Gehring allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts over five innings of work in a no-decision. Braden Gebhardt suffered the loss after surrendering two runs on six hits with five punchouts over four innings out of the bullpen.
- Nathan Beckley and Cutting each recorded a pair of hits to pace the Penguins offensively.
vs. Northern Kentucky – Saturday, April 12 // L, 3-14
- Northern Kentucky scored five runs over its first two at bats and went on to defeat Youngstown State 14-3 in game two of a three-game Horizon League series on Saturday afternoon at Eastwood Field.
- The Norse led 5-1 after the top of the second inning and 6-3 at the end of the sixth. NKU added four runs in the top of the seventh to build a 10-3 advantage and held on to top the Guins for the second straight day and secure the series victory.
- Kyle Fossum went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and his league-leading 15th home run of the season. Northern Kentucky finished with a 9-3 edge in the hit column while drawing a total of 17 walks and stealing eight bases in the contest.
- YSU starter JJ Tylicki allowed five runs, three of which were earned, on two hits and five walks over 1.2 innings in a losing effort. Sloan Ulrich was responsible for one run over four innings of relief while Colin Casteel surrendered three runs in one inning on the mound.
vs. Northern Kentucky – Sunday, April 13 // W, 18-8 (8 innings)
- Youngstown State scored a season-high 18 runs on 17 hits on its way to an 18-8 victory over Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League series finale on Sunday afternoon at Eastwood Field.
- The Penguins held a 5-1 lead following the first inning before the Norse scored four times in the top of the third to even the contest. YSU proceeded to score the next eight runs in the game to build a 13-5 advantage. NKU pushed across three runs in the top half of the sixth before Youngstown State added two runs in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth to secure the victory in eight innings.
- Nathan Beckley went 3-for-5 with a career-high six RBIs to become the first Penguin in more than two years to drive in six runs in a game. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native is the first Penguin to have at least six RBIs since Braeden O'Shaughnessy drove in six runs against Oakland on March 16, 2023.
- Tommy Rover also went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored while Caleb Hadley was 2-for-4 with three walks, two RBIs and four runs scored. Kyle Fossum, Brady Shannon and Brayden Kuriger each recorded two hits and drove in a run.
- YSU starter Brandon Mikos allowed five runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks over five innings to pick up his second win of the season. Phil Brennaman surrendered three runs on three hits in the sixth while Aidan English and Mikey Rodriques each tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
Up Next
Youngstown State will continue its nine-game road stretch on Thursday when it begins a three-game Horizon League series at Milwaukee at 6 p.m. ET. The Penguins and Panthers will procced to play on Saturday at 6 p.m. before closing the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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/ BaseballTuesday, February 11
Tuesday, February 11
