Youngstown, Ohio – The 2026 season marks two special anniversaries in the history of the Youngstown State Softball program.
The Penguins will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 2006 Horizon League Tournament Championship and NCAA Regional team and the fifth anniversary of the 2021 Horizon League Regular-Season Championship squad.
Youngstown State will honor both teams on Saturday, March 28, when the Penguins host Horizon League foe Northern Kentucky in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. All players from the 2006 and 2021 teams that are in attendance will be recognized between games one and two.
The 2006 team won the Horizon League Tournament Championship in dramatic fashion when senior Tiffany Patteson belted a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Penguins to their first championship, 2-1.
The Penguins entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed but defeated Detroit Mercy, 12-3, and Wright State, 6-4, to advance to the winners' bracket final. Junior pitcher Karlie Burnell tossed a complete game with three strikeouts and freshman Kristen McDonnell went 3-for-4 with a double to lead the Penguins to a 3-2 victory over UIC to reach the championship.
Burnell again was outstanding limiting the Flames to just one run in a complete-game performance, and sophomore McKenzie Bedra's sixth inning home run tied the game at 1-1 and set up Patteson's last-inning, title-winning heroics.
The 2021 season was one for the ages as the Penguins won the first regular-season Horizon League championship in program history. Youngstown State finished the season with a 36-15 overall record and went 28-8 in league action.
Avrey Schumacher hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Youngstown State to a 3-1 victory over Cleveland State to secure the crown at the YSU Softball Field.
The Penguins dominated the 2021 Horizon League postseason awards as Elle Buffenbarger was named Pitcher of the Year, Jillian Jakse was named Freshman of the Year and Head Coach Brian Campbell was named Coach of the Year.
Buffenbarger and Jakse were joined on the All-Horizon League First-Team by senior Nikki Saibene, a three-time player-of-the-week honoree. The Massillon, Ohio, native ranked tied for the league lead with 48 runs batted in, third with 52 hits and fifth in batting average at .380. She also ranked second with 13 doubles and 11 home runs, third with a .715 slugging percentage, seventh with a .439 on-base percentage.
Senior Maddie Lusk and junior Alex DeLeon were named to the All-Horizon League Second-Team while Hailey Niederkohr joined Jakse on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
