The Youngstown State baseball team (0-3) will trek to the Northwest part of the country this week for a four-game series at Oregon (4-0) beginning on Thursday.

The Penguins and Ducks will begin the series on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET in the first meeting on the diamond between the programs. The two teams will proceed to play on Friday at 5 p.m. and on Saturday at 3 p.m. before concluding the series on Sunday at 3 p.m.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: First pitch times for the first two games of the series have been moved up an hour to 5 p.m. ET due to weather.

Live video for all four games of the series will be streamed on B1G+ 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 Oregon

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Live Stats
	Thursday Feb. 19 | 5 PM ET	PK Park Eugene, Ore.	B1G+	Live Stats
	Friday Feb. 20 | 5 PM ET	PK Park Eugene, Ore.	B1G+	Live Stats
	Saturday Feb. 21 | 3 PM ET	PK Park Eugene, Ore.	B1G+	Live Stats
	Sunday Feb. 22 | 3 PM ET	PK Park Eugene, Ore.	B1G+	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Senior right-hander Aidan English is scheduled to make his first start of the season in the series opener on Thursday while senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt will take the ball in game two on Friday. Senior right-hander Jack Messmore will start on the mound in game three on Saturday while redshirt junior right-hander Brandon Mikos is slated to start the series finale on Sunday.
• Youngstown State opened the 2026 season with a three-game series at No. 5 Auburn on opening weekend (Feb. 13-15). The Penguins battled the nationally ranked Tigers to a pair of one-run decisions in the first two games of the series. YSU dropped a 2-1 decision in the season opener on Friday before falling by the same score in 10 innings in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Auburn won a 17-2 decision in second game of Saturday's doubleheader to conclude the opening weekend series.
• Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt named the Under Armour Horizon League Pitcher of the Week following the opening weekend of the 2026 season on Monday. Gebhardt recorded the most strikeouts in a game by a Penguin in nearly five years as part of a masterful Opening Day pitching performance in YSU's 2-1 loss at No. 5 Auburn in the 2026 season opener on Friday evening at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.
• Gebhardt, who earned the first weekly HL award of his career, was responsible for one unearned run on two hits while setting a new career high with 11 strikeouts over six innings on the mound. The Howland, Ohio, native posted the most strikeouts in a game by a Penguin since Collin Floyd fanned 12 batters against Milwaukee on April 9, 2021. Gebhardt recorded multiple punchouts in four different frames while fanning seven straight batters between the third and fifth innings.
• A day after Gebhardt put forth his impressive starting pitching performance, senior right-hander Jack Messmore followed suit by scattering six hits and striking out five batters over 6.1 scoreless innings in game one of Saturday's twinbill at Auburn. In his first outing as a Penguin, the New Mexico transfer faced the minimum in four straight frames after retiring the side in order for the third time in the bottom of the fifth inning.
• Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon batted .300 and slugged .700 with a home run and a double over three games played on opening weekend at Auburn. The Youngstown, Ohio, native hit a towering solo homer over the high wall in left field at Auburn's Plainsman Park in the season opener on Friday. Shannon recorded a single, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader before adding a double in game two to hit safely in three straight contests to begin the 2026 season.
• The Penguins and Ducks will meet on the diamond for the time in Thursday's series opener. YSU's last contest against an opponent from the B1G+ was a 13-9 loss at Ohio State on May 8, 2024. Youngstown State's last win over a B1G+ member was a 2-1 victory at Penn State on March 22, 2022. That win over the Nittany Lions was the program's first over a B1G+ opponent since an 11-9 triumph at Ohio State on April 10, 1996.
• Youngstown State is under the direction of second-year head coach Trevor Charpie. In Charpie's first season guiding the program in 2025, the Penguins finished with a 15-42 overall record and an 11-19 mark in Horizon League play to finish fourth in the league standings. There are 38 players on YSU's roster in 2026, and 17 of them were with the program last year. The Penguins return 15 letterwinners from last year's team and have 21 newcomers to the roster.
• YSU returned several starting position players from last year's team. Redshirt junior utility player Nathan Beckley batted .301 and slugged .468 with 15 doubles, four home runs and 42 RBIs in 2025. Senior outfielder Brayden Kuriger batted .301 and slugged .530 with 10 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 43 RBIs and a team-high 12 stolen bases last season. Beckley and Kuriger were each named to the 2025 Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon batted .236 and slugged .461 with three doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 22 RBIs and 11 stolen bases last season while redshirt senior infielder Garrett Cutting started all 57 games at shortstop for the Penguins in 2025. Sophomore infielder Jay Wrona also returns in 2026 after earning a spot on the 2025 Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
• Freshman infielder Misael Uriepero was selected as D1Baseball.com's Preseason Horizon League Freshman of the Year as the No. 1 ranked player on the website's list of Impact Freshmen in the conference ahead of the 2026 season. The Caracas, Venezuela, native was also ranked as the website's No. 3 MLB Draft prospect in the Horizon League for 2027. Uriepero was also picked as the Horizon League's Preseason Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game.
• Beckley, Kuriger and redshirt junior infielder Luke Rossi were each named to Perfect Game's Horizon League Preseason All-Conference Team ahead of the 2026 season. Rossi is expected to be an important part of YSU's lineup in 2026 after playing in 66 games over the last two seasons at the College of San Mateo. The Salinas, Calif., native played in 41 games while earning First-Team All-Coast Conference honors as a redshirt sophomore in 2025. Rossi batted .384 and slugged .616 with 58 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 41 RBIs while leading the Coast Conference in batting average and hits.
• The Penguins were picked fourth in the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll after a vote of the league's head coaches. D1Baseball.com also picked Youngstown State to finish fourth in the Horizon League standings in 2026.

Series Preview

A Win on Thursday Would…

• Give the Penguins their first victory of the 2026 season.
• Give YSU its first win over a B1G+ opponent since the 2022 season and just the second such win since 1996.
• Be YSU's first victory over Oregon.
• Give the Penguins their seventh victory over a Power-Conference opponent in the last five seasons.
• Give Trevor Charpie his 16th career victory.

Scouting Oregon

• Oregon entered the 2026 season ranked No. 30 by the NCBWA and No. 23 by other major national polls. Following a 2025 B1G+ regular-season title, the Ducks have 22 newcomers to the roster including a recruiting class ranked No. 22 nationally by Perfect Game. Oregon finished the 2025 season with a 42-16 overall record and a 22-8 mark in B1G+ play on its way to hosting the NCAA Eugene Regional.
• The Ducks opened the 2026 season with a dominant four-game sweep of George Mason at PK Park, outscoring the Patriots 45-12 in the series.
• Oregon's lineup is anchored by junior shortstop and top 2026 MLB Draft prospect Maddox Molony and second baseman Ryan Cooney. Senior Dominic Hellman also returned after earning All-Big Ten third-team honors in 2025. Infielder Angel Laya earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors following the opening weekend of the 2026 campaign.
• Oregon's probable starting pitching rotation features junior right-hander Collin Clarke, who posted a 4.59 ERA in 2025, and San Diego transfer right-hander Cal Scolari. Returner and sophomore right-hander Will Sanford allowed one hit and struck out five batters over five scoreless innings as the starter in Oregon's 6-2 win over George Mason in the season opener on Friday.

Series History

• Thursday's series opener will mark the first meeting on the diamond between Youngstown State and Oregon.

Recapping Last Week

at Auburn – Friday, Feb. 13 // L, 1-2

• Braden Gebhardt recorded the most strikeouts in a game by a Penguin in nearly five years as part of a masterful Opening Day pitching performance, but the Youngstown State baseball team fell short 2-1 to the No. 5 Auburn Tigers in the 2026 season opener on Friday evening at Plainsman Park.
• The Penguins got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning when Brady Shannon broke a scoreless tie with a towering solo home run over the left field wall. The Tigers drew even with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning before adding another single run in the eighth inning to move in front.
• Gebhardt was responsible for one unearned run on two hits while setting a new career high with 11 strikeouts over six innings on the mound. The senior left-hander posted the most strikeouts in a game by a Penguin since Collin Floyd fanned 12 batters against Milwaukee on April 9, 2021. Gebhardt recorded multiple punchouts in four different frames while fanning seven straight batters between the third and fifth innings.
• Auburn starter Jake Marciano, who struck out the first five batters he faced, allowed one run on two hits with 12 strikeouts over five innings in a no-decision. Drew Whalen was awarded the win after tossing three scoreless innings of relief while Garrett Brewer came on to get the final three outs and record the save.
• YSU freshman infielder Misael Uriepero recorded the first hit of his collegiate career with a single in the top of the third inning.
• Luke Zmolik suffered the loss after allowing one run on three hits over 1.1 innings of relief in his YSU debut while Sloan Ulrich came on to record the final two outs of the eighth inning.

at Auburn – Friday, Feb. 14 (Game 1) // L, 1-2 (10 innings)

• The Youngstown State baseball team held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning at No. 5 Auburn before the Tigers scored once in the ninth and once in the 10th to earn a walk-off 2-1 victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at Plainsman Park.
• The Penguins took their 1-0 edge with a single run in the top of the fifth, and the score remained the same until the bottom of the ninth inning. Cade Belyeu started Auburn's ninth with a leadoff double, Ethin Bingaman followed with a walk and Lucas Steele reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with nobody out. Belyeu raced home on a sacrifice fly from Bristol Carter to even the score before Mikey Rodriques struck out Brandon McCraine and got Bub Terrell to ground out to send the game to extra innings.
• The nationally ranked Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out again in the bottom of the 10th inning. After a force play at the plate, Chase Fralick was able to score from third on a wild pitch to give Auburn the walk-off win and the series victory.
• Senior right-hander Jack Messmore scattered six hits and struck out five batters over 6.1 scoreless innings in game one of Saturday's twinbill. In his first outing as a Penguin, the New Mexico transfer faced the minimum in four straight frames after retiring the side in order for the third time in the bottom of the fifth inning.
• Aidan Dorsch recorded a pair of outs in relief in his YSU debut while Griffin Almond worked a scoreless inning in his first appearance as a Penguin. Rodriques allowed one run in the ninth during his lone inning of work while Aidan English suffered the loss after surrendering the winning run in the 10th.
• Garrett Cutting went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI double while Alex Jang, Luke Rossi and Brady Shannon each added singles for the Penguins offensively.

at Auburn – Friday, Feb. 14 (Game 2) // L, 2-17 (7 innings)

• Auburn scored in four of the first five innings on its way to a 17-2 victory over the Youngstown State baseball team in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at Plainsman Park.
• Fralick hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first before Carter and Terrell each delivered run-scoring singles in the second to give the Tigers an early 5-0 advantage. Terrell singled and scored on sacrifice fly from Belyeu in the home half of the fourth before Auburn erupted for eight runs on five hits in the fifth to extend its lead to 14-0. The Tigers added three tallies in the sixth before the Guins plated a pair of runs in the top of the seventh for the final margin.
• YSU starter Brandon Mikos was responsible for five runs on seven hits over 1.1 innings in a losing decision. Tyler Heflin logged 1.2 innings as the first of four relievers to appear in the contest for the Penguins. Freshman Bryce Palms made his first collegiate appearance while transfers Sumner Esters and Kale Wemer each made their YSU debuts.
• James Carlson went 1-for-2 with a single in his collegiate debut while Jang recorded an RBI single in the finale after delivering a pinch-hit single in his first career plate appearance in game one on Saturday. Shannon hit safely for the third consecutive game with a double while transfer Ryan Schummer added a base hit in his Penguin debut.

Up Next

Youngstown State will continue its early-season road stretch with a four-game weekend series at Longwood on Feb. 27-March 1.