The fourth-seeded Youngstown State baseball team (14-40, 11-19 HL) will face fifth-seeded Oakland (17-39, 10-20 HL) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the opening round of the 2025 Horizon League Baseball Championship at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and 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. Oakland

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Wednesday May 21 | 3 PM ET	Nischwitz Stadium Dayton, Ohio	ESPN+	YSNLive.com	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Redshirt junior right-hander Brandon Mikos is scheduled to make his 14 overall appearance and 11th start of the season on Wednesday. The Canfield, Ohio, native owns a 5-2 record and a 6.96 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched. Most recently, Mikos did not allow an earned run while matching career highs with seven strikeouts and seven innings pitched in YSU's 4-1 victory over Oakland in the series finale on May 11. He has now won four of his last five decisions with wins over NKU, Milwaukee, Purdue Fort Wayne and Oakland. Mikos ranks fourth in the Horizon League with five victories on the mound. He was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week earlier this season on March 12.
• The Penguins have dropped four straight games after being swept in a three-game Horizon League series at Northern Kentucky this past weekend. The Norse rallied to win the opener 14-8 on Thursday before earning wins of 12-4 and 23-4 over the final two games of the series on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
• YSU has set new single-season school records with 286 walks and 70 home runs through 54 games. The Guins surpassed the previous school mark for walks of 272 that was set in 2018 and the previous record for home runs of 60 that was set in 2010.
• Through games played on May 18, senior outfielder and Washington transfer Kyle Fossum leads the Horizon League in hits (79), home runs (22), slugging percentage (.787) and total bases (163) while ranking second in batting average (.382), OPS (1.281) and runs scored (60). The Seattle, Wash., native also ranks third in the league with a .494 on-base percentage, fifth with 18 doubles and 58 RBIs and sixth with 42 walks.
• Fossum holds national rankings of third in home runs, fifth in slugging percentage, sixth in total bases and 35th in hits. Fossum batted .423 and slugged .902 with 52 hits, 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 36 RBIs over 30 games in Horizon League play. In Horizon League games only, he led all players in batting average, hits, runs scored and doubles. Fossum was twice named the Horizon League Batter of the Week during the 2025 season. He leads the Penguins with 26 multi-hit games and 18 multi-RBI performances.
• With two home runs at NKU on Thursday, Fossum matched the Horizon League's single-season home run record. The senior became just the third player in HL history to record 22 home runs in a campaign, joining Cleveland State's Jeff Haase in 2000 and NKU's Liam McFadden-Ackman in 2024. Fossum became YSU's single-season home run king with his 18th home run of the season at Purdue Fort Wayne on April 25. Fossum surpassed the previous single-season school record of 17 home runs, which was set by Andrew Kendrick in 2017.
• Fossum surpassed another school record against Wright State on May 2 when he recorded his 138th total base of the season. He broke the previous single-season mark of 137 total bases, which was set by Mark Thomas back in 1999. Fossum is currently second on YSU's single-season list with 58 RBIs, needing two more to break Jacke Healey's mark of 59 in 2010. He is also second on YSU's single-season list with 60 runs scored, needing four more to surpass Healey's record of 63 in 2010.
• Redshirt senior infielder Tommy Rover is batting .333 and slugging .611 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs over 44 games played. The Brentwood, Calif., native ranks fourth in the Horizon League in on-base percentage (.478), fifth in OPS (1.089), eighth in home runs and slugging percentage and 10th in batting average. Rover slashed .357/.510/.696 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs over 30 games played in Horizon League action. He ranks second in the Horizon League and has set a new single-season school record having been hit by a pitch 19 times in 2025. He surpassed the previous mark of 15, which was set by Dustin Thomas in 2006. Rover has also reached base safely in 14 straight games entering Wednesday's contest.
• Senior right-hander Jacob Gehring ranks sixth in the Horizon League in innings pitched (61.1), seventh in strikeouts (56) and sixth in ERA (6.60). The Canfield, Ohio, native 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 at Oakland on April 4.
• Redshirt senior right-hander and Kansas transfer JJ Tylicki ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a team-high 64 strikeouts. The Shawnee, Kan., native matched his season and career high with nine strikeouts while allowing just one hit over 5.1 strong innings of relief in the second game of a doubleheader against Wright State on May 2.
• Senior infielder Cole Smith is batting .292 and slugging .497 with six home runs and 37 RBIs over 53 games played. The Dothan, Ala., native and UT Martin transfer leads the Horizon League with 20 doubles while ranking seventh with 41 walks. Smith batted .340 and slugged .575 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBIs over 30 games played in Horizon League action.
• Junior outfielder and Nicholls transfer Brayden Kuriger is batting .287 and slugging .497 with nine doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 39 RBIs and a team-high 11 stolen bases through 47 games played and 45 starts. The Gonzales, La., native ranks tied for third in the Horizon League with a team-high three triples. He slashed .337/.418/.533 with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 26 RBIs over 25 games played in Horizon League action. Kuriger has hit safely in six straight games entering the Horizon League Tournament.
• Freshman infielder Jay Wrona is batting .315 with seven doubles, one triple, 13 RBIs, 27 walks and 24 runs scored over 39 games played and 33 starts. The New Castle, Pa., native set a new single-game school record with five walks in YSU's 20-14 win at Milwaukee on April 18. Wrona had reached base safely in 30 straight games before the impressive streak came to end on May 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 years old, Charpie is the third-youngest Division I head baseball coach in the country in 2025.

YSU's Horizon League Tournament History

• Youngstown State owns a 24-32 overall record in Horizon League Tournament games dating back to the 2002 season. The Penguins are 1-5 all-time playing as the No. 4 seed and 10-16 in tournament games played at Wright State's Nischwitz Stadium.
• YSU went 4-2 in the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship to finish as the tournament's runner-up. The Penguins won four games in the league tournament for the first time since winning the championship in 2014.
• Youngstown State is 2-2 all-time versus Oakland in the Horizon League Tournament. Most recently, the Penguins earned a 13-10 win over the Golden Grizzlies in the opening round last season.

Previewing Oakland

A Win on Wednesday Would...

• Improve YSU to 15-40 overall and advance the Penguins into the winner's bracket on Thursday.
• Snap a four-game losing skid.
• Give YSU its third straight win over Oakland.
• Give the Guins eight wins in the last 11 encounters with the Golden Grizzlies.

Scouting The Golden Grizzlies

• Oakland finished the regular season at 17-39 overall and 10-20 in Horizon League play to earn the fifth seed in the HL Tournament. The Golden Grizzlies won two of three home games against Milwaukee in league play this past weekend.
• Senior outfielder John Lauinger is batting .351 with a team-high 72 hits to go along with 24 stolen bases and 34 RBIs. Senior catcher Matthew McGann is batting .339 and slugging .538 while leading Oakland with seven home runs and 44 RBIs. The Golden Grizzlies lead the Horizon League with 128 stolen bases heading into the league tournament.
• Freshman left-hander Grant Garman owns a 3-4 record and a 5.67 ERA while leading Oakland with 63 strikeouts and 73 innings pitched over 14 starts on the mound. Senior right-hander Hunter Pidek has a 6.78 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 71.2 innings pitched over 14 starts. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Donley has made a team-high 23 appearances out of the bullpen.

Series History

• Overall: Youngstown State leads 34-32
• Charpie: 4-2 // H: 23-16 // A: 9-13 // N: 2-3
• Current Win Streak: 2 by Youngstown State
• Last Meeting: May 11, 2025 (W, 4-1)
• First Meeting: May 8, 1999 (W, 12-5)
• YSU won four of six meetings with Oakland during the regular season. The Penguins won two of three games in Rochester in early April before taking two of three contests at Eastwood Field in mid-May.
• The Penguins and Golden Grizzlies will meet in the opening round of the HL Tournament for the second straight season. YSU earned a 13-10 victory over Oakland in the opening round of the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio. The Penguins have won seven of the last 10 encounters overall.

Recapping Last Weekend

at Northern Kentucky – Thursday, May 15 // L, 8-14

• Northern Kentucky scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overcome a three-run deficit and defeat Youngstown State 14-8 in the Horizon League series opener on Thursday afternoon at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
• The Penguins took a quick lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first before the Norse countered with four runs in the home half of the inning to move ahead 4-2. YSU posted three runs in the top of the second to regain a 5-4 edge before NKU evened the score with a single tally in the home half of the inning. The Guins scored the next three runs to take an 8-5 lead before the Norse exploded to score nine runs in the sixth to gain control of the contest.
• Kyle Fossum went 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored while matching the Horizon League's single-season home run record. Eli Brown went 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored while Tommy Rover was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Brady Shannon and Cole Smith each added solo home runs as the Penguins and Norse each finished with 11 hits.
• YSU starter Mitchell Seymour allowed four runs on three hits while recording one out. Braden Gebhardt was responsible for one unearned run while scattering four hits and striking out six batters over 4.2 strong innings of relief. Harun Pelja and Tyler Heflin each surrendered three runs during NKU's nine-run sixth inning while Phil Brennaman allowed three runs on four hits with three punchouts over three innings on the mound.

at Northern Kentucky – Friday, May 16 // L, 4-12

• Northern Kentucky scored the first six runs of the game and went on to defeat Youngstown State 12-4 on Friday afternoon at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
• The Norse plated three runs in the second and three more in the third to take a 6-0 lead before the Penguins scored twice in the top of the fourth. NKU went on to score four runs in the fourth to build a 10-2 advantage before YSU hit a pair of solo home runs in the fifth. The Norse added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings on their way to earning the series victory.
• Tommy Rover went 2-for-5 with a solo home run while Brayden Kuriger doubled, walked and hit a solo blast of his own. Nathan Beckley added a solo home run and Brady Shannon delivered an RBI single for the Penguins.
• YSU starter Sloan Ulrich allowed 10 runs, four of which were earned, on nine hits over three innings. JJ Tylicki was responsible for two runs on three hits and five walks with five strikeouts over 3.2 innings while Colin Casteel came on to pitch 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.

at Northern Kentucky – Saturday, May 17 // L, 4-23 (7 innings)

• Youngstown State dropped a 23-4 decision to Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in the Horizon League series and regular season finale at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
• The Norse plated a single run in the bottom of the first inning before the Penguins took a brief 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the second. NKU erupted for an 11-run second inning to grab control while adding multiple runs in each of the next four frames to complete the three-game series sweep.
• Eli Brown went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run while Garrett Cutting finished 2-for-3 with a two-run double.
• YSU starter Nolan Kubilus, the first of eight Penguins to appear on the mound, suffered the loss after allowing six runs, four of which were earned, on three hits and three walks over 1.1 innings.

Up Next

If the Penguins defeat Oakland on Wednesday, they would move into the winner's bracket to face top-seeded Wright State or second-seeded Northern Kentucky on Thursday. If YSU loses to Oakland, it would play in an elimination game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the loser of third-seeded Milwaukee and sixth-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne.