The Youngstown State baseball team (10-30, 7-11 HL) will open a three-game Horizon League series with Purdue Fort Wayne (7-32, 5-12 HL) at Mastodon Field in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Friday at noon ET.
UPDATE: Friday's series opener has been moved up to noon from its original start time of 3 p.m. due to anticipated inclement weather later in the day.
The Penguins and Mastodons will proceed to play on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live audio will be available for all three games 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 at Purdue Fort Wayne
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 is slated to start game two of the series on Saturday. Redshirt junior right-hander Brandon Mikos is scheduled to start on the hill for the Penguins in the series finale on Sunday.
- The Penguins are coming off back-to-back midweek non-conference losses to MAC opponents earlier this week. YSU dropped a 14-4 decision at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday before falling by the same score at Kent State on Wednesday. The Penguins won two of three games at Milwaukee last weekend in their most recent Horizon League action. YSU fell 11-6 in the opener on Thursday before scoring 16 straight runs in a 20-14 triumph on Friday to even the series. The Guins secured the series victory with a 7-5 win in the series finale on Saturday.
- Through games played on April 23, senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum leads the Horizon League and ranks third nationally with 17 home runs. The Seattle, Wash., native has tied the single-season school record of 17 home runs, set by Andrew Kendrick in 2017. Fossum also ranks seventh nationally with an .821 slugging percentage and 124 total bases.
- Fossum is slashing .446/.553/1.000 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 22 RBIs over 18 games in Horizon League play. He was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week on March 25. Fossum leads the Horizon League with 58 hits while ranking second in slugging percentage (.821), OPS (1.316) and doubles (15), third in batting average (.384), on-base percentage (.495) and runs scored (43), fourth in RBIs (43) and fifth in walks (31).
- Freshman infielder Jay Wrona is batting .359 and slugging .474 with seven doubles, one triple and 13 RBIs over 28 games played and 24 starts. The New Castle, Pa., native set the single-game school record with five walks in YSU's 20-14 win at Milwaukee on Friday. Wrona has reached base safely in 25 straight games entering Friday's series opener at Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman Brady Shannon has hit multiple home runs in a game twice during 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, who is also a quarterback on the YSU football team, also hit a pair of solo home runs in YSU's 10-7 victory over Milwaukee on March 15. He is batting .261 and slugging .471 with 15 RBIs over 33 games played and 30 starts.
- Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 48 strikeouts and third with 55 innings pitched. Gehring struck out a career-high nine batters over six innings against Purdue Fort Wayne on March 21. He registered 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 JJ Tylicki ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 44 strikeouts. 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.
- Redshirt sophomore utility player Nathan Beckley has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games to improve his batting average to .311 through 37 games played and 35 starts.
- Redshirt junior right-hander Brandon Mikos pitched a career-high seven innings in YSU's 7-5 victory at Milwaukee on Saturday. He scattered six hits while allowing just two earned runs with five strikeouts. Mikos has won his last two decisions with wins over NKU and Milwaukee. He was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on March 12.
- 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 Purdue Fort Wayne
A Win on Friday Would...
- Improve YSU to 11-30 overall and 8-11 in Horizon League play.
- Snap a two-game losing skid.
- Give YSU its third straight win in HL play.
- Improve YSU's record to 7-8 since April 1.
Scouting The Mastodons
- Purdue Fort Wayne is 7-32 overall and 5-12 in Horizon League play after splitting a pair of midweek non-league games against Power Four opponents earlier this week.
- The Mastodons earned a 10-1 win at Michigan State on Tuesday before falling 8-6 at Notre Dame on Wednesday. PFW's win at Michigan State snapped an 11-game losing streak.
- Sophomore infielder Justin Osterhouse is batting .290 and slugging .493 while leading the Mastodons with 40 hits and eight home runs. Senior first baseman Jackson Micheels is batting .271 and slugging .424 while leading the 'Dons with 10 doubles and 25 RBIs. Purdue Fort Wayne ranks last in the Horizon League with a .252 team batting average heading into the weekend.
- Senior right-hander Dillon Fischer leads PFW with 40 strikeouts and 56.2 innings pitched over 12 appearances and 10 starts. Junior left-hander Zane Danielson has recorded 37 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched over 10 starts on the mound. The Mastodons rank fifth in the Horizon League with an 8.62 team earned run average.
Series History
- Overall: Youngstown State leads 22-12
- Charpie: 1-2 // H: 6-7 // A: 14-5 // N: 2-0
- Current Win Streak: 1 by Purdue Fort Wayne
- Last Meeting: March 23, 2025 (L, 16-20)
- First Meeting: April 17, 2004 (W, 6-1)
- The Penguins dropped two of three games against the Mastodons at Eastwood Field in late March earlier this season. Purdue Fort Wayne won the series opener 5-4 on March 21 before YSU rallied for a 12-11 win in game one of a doubleheader on March 23. The 'Dons won the series finale 20-16 to pick up the series win.
- YSU went 4-3 against PFW in 2024 as both teams won two of three games on the other's home field before the Penguins won a 12-10 decision in the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.
Recapping Last Games
at Eastern Michigan – Tuesday, April 22 // L, 4-14 (7 innings)
- The Youngstown State baseball team dropped a 14-4 decision to Eastern Michigan in non-conference play on Tuesday at Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
- After scoring a single run in the bottom of the first inning, the Eagles went on to strike for multiple runs in each of the next three innings to build a 14-0 advantage. The Penguins pushed across four runs in the top of the sixth to produce the final margin
- Teddy Ruffner went 2-for-2 with a run scored while Eli Brown delivered a two-run double for the Penguins offensively.
- YSU starter Phil Brennaman suffered the loss after allowing nine runs on three hits and four walks with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings while Colin Casteel was responsible for five runs on five hits in one inning out of the bullpen. Nate Ross recorded a pair of punchouts over 1.1 scoreless innings and Lane Rhodes worked a scoreless bottom of the sixth.
at Kent State – Wednesday, April 23 // L, 4-14 (7 innings)
- Brayden Kuriger and Garrett Cutting each hit home runs as the Youngstown State baseball team fell 14-4 to Kent State in midweek non-conference action on Wednesday evening at Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium in Kent, Ohio.
- The Penguins scored first on a solo home run from Kuriger in the top of the second inning before the Golden Flashes plated the next 12 runs of the contest. Cutting hit a three-run blast in the top of the seventh for YSU before Kent State struck for a pair of runs in the home half of the inning to secure the seven-inning victory.
- Cutting went 2-for-3 with his fourth homer of 2025 while Kuriger belted his fifth home run of the season.
- YSU starter Tyler Heflin was the losing pitcher after allowing eight runs on eight hits over three innings while Gavin Wilms was responsible for two runs in one inning out of the bullpen.
Up Next
Youngstown State will return home to begin a three-game Horizon League series with Wright State at Eastwood Field on Friday, May 2, at 6 p.m. The Penguins and Raiders will proceed to play on May 3 at 3 p.m. before concluding the series on May 4 at 1 p.m.
