The Youngstown State baseball team (1-10) will continue its early season road stretch on Tuesday at 3 p.m. with a midweek contest against Pitt (8-2) at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tuesday's game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra 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 Pitt
A Glimpse at the Guins
- Redshirt freshman right-hander Kale Wemer is scheduled to make his fourth appearance of the season and his first career start on the mound at Pitt on Tuesday. The Crawfordsville, Ind., native made his collegiate debut at Auburn on Feb. 14 after redshirting at Purdue last season.
- Youngstown State has dropped three straight decisions coming into Tuesday's game at Pitt. The Penguins earned their first victory of the 2026 season with a 2-1 win in the series opener at Longwood on Friday. The Lancers won both games of a doubleheader on Saturday by scores of 9-3 and 6-3 before closing the series with a 6-4 victory the series finale on Sunday.
- Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt had a career-high 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on the mound in YSU's 2-1 series-opening win at Longwood on Friday. The senior left-hander scattered five hits while walking just two batters and matching the longest outing of his career for the second straight week. The Howland, Ohio, native registered multiple punchouts in four different innings, and he struck out the side in both the fourth and the seventh. Gebhardt, who has yet to give up an earned run on nine hits allowed over three starts this season, has struck out 28 batters while walking just seven in 20 innings pitched.
- Freshman infielder Alex Jang is batting .364 while being tied for the team lead with eight hits through eight games played and four starts in 2026. The Las Vegas, Nev., native went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in the series finale at Longwood on Sunday. Jang hit his first-career home run in the top of the fourth inning to give YSU a 4-2 lead.
- Youngstown State has won two of the last five and six of the last 11 meetings with Pitt overall. The Panthers defeated the Penguins 17-7 in Pittsburgh last March in the most recent encounter. The two teams split a pair of meetings in 2024 with YSU earning a 7-6 win in 10 innings at Charles L. Cost Field for its fourth consecutive victory over the Panthers in Pittsburgh. Youngstown State has a win over Pitt in five of the last six seasons that the two programs have faced off.
- 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.
- 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. In addition, Uriepero was picked as the Horizon League's Preseason Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game. The freshman has been in the starting lineup in each of YSU's first 11 games of the 2026 season.
- Redshirt junior utility player Nathan Beckley, senior outfielder Brayden 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.
- 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.
Game Preview
A Win on Tuesday Would…
- Give the Penguins their second victory of the 2026 season.
- Snap a three-game losing streak.
- Give YSU three wins in the last five meetings with Pitt.
- Snap a two-game losing skid in the series with the Panthers.
- Be YSU's fifth victory over Pitt in its last six games at Charles L. Cost Field.
- Give Trevor Charpie his 17th career coaching victory.
Scouting Pitt
- Pitt owns an 8-2 record after sweeping UNC Greensboro in a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field this past weekend. The Panthers have won four straight games since a 5-2 loss to Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Feb. 22. Pitt won two of three games against Western Michigan in Florida on opening weekend before defeating Long Beach State and Cal State Bakersfield in its first two games at the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas.
- Pitt's 2026 roster features 21 newcomers, including 16 transfers and 5 freshmen. The Panthers' lineup is anchored by infielder Caden Dulin, who led the team in batting average last season (.337), and outfielder AJ Nessler, who paced Pitt with 67 hits in 2025.
- Nessler is batting .410 and slugging .641 while leading the Panthers with 16 hits, 17 runs scored and four stolen bases through 10 games started. Outfielder Lorenzo Carrier is batting .324 and slugging .588 with a team-high 17 RBIs.
- Left-hander Mikey Gray was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watchlist ahead of the 2026 season.
Series History
- Overall: Pitt leads 40-13-1
- Charpie: 0-1 // H: 5-15 // A: 8-25-1 // N: 0-0
- Current Win Streak: 2 by Pitt
- Last Meeting: March 12, 2025 (L, 7-17)
- First Meeting: April 30, 1986 (L, 2-14)
- YSU has won two of the last five and six of the last 11 meetings with Pitt overall. The Guins have a win over the Panthers in five of the last six seasons in which the programs have faced off. YSU had also won four straight meetings between the teams at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh before last season's decision.
- YSU's last victory in the series was a 7-6 win in 10 innings in Pittsburgh on March 13, 2024.
Recapping Last Week
at Longwood – Friday, Feb. 27 // W, 2-1
- Braden Gebhardt had a career-high 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on the mound, and Youngstown State scored two ninth inning runs to rally for a 2-1 victory over Longwood on Friday in the series opener at Bobby Bolding Stadium.
- The Lancers broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the bottom of the eighth inning before the Penguins answered with two runs on three hits in the top half of the ninth to move in front. Sloan Ulrich proceeded to retire the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure YSU's first victory of the 2026 season.
- Brady Shannon reached on an error in the top of the ninth and raced home from first on Teddy Ruffner's pinch-hit RBI double to tie the score at one run apiece. Following a base hit from Luke Rossi, Kendal Spencer plated Ruffner from second with an RBI single that gave YSU the decisive 2-1 advantage.
- Gebhardt matched the longest outing of his career for the second straight week in Friday's series opener while recording a strikeout in six different frames. The Howland, Ohio, native registered multiple punchouts in four different innings, and he struck out the side in both the fourth and the seventh.
- Brayden Kuriger finished with two of YSU's seven hits as the Penguins edged the Lancers in the hit column, 7-6.
- Luke Zmolik was responsible for one run while recording two outs in the bottom of the eighth as YSU's first reliever out of the bullpen. Ulrich was awarded with the victory after coming on to record the final four outs for the Penguins.
at Longwood – Saturday, Feb. 28 (Game 1) // L, 3-9
- Longwood used a five-run seventh inning to pull away for a 9-3 victory over Youngstown State in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
- The Lancers scored the first three runs of the game before the Penguins plated their first run in the top of the sixth to pull within 3-1. Longwood struck for five runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to build an eight-run edge before YSU scored twice in the ninth.
- Caleb Hadley doubled and scored a run as one of seven different Penguins to record a hit in the contest. Rossi and Misael Uriepero each singled and drove in a run while Nick Miscavage singled and scored once.
- YSU starter Jack Messmore suffered the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings while Aidan English was responsible for one run with three strikeouts over two innings of relief. Jake Ferretti surrendered four runs on two hits and two walks in the seventh before Sumner Estes permitted one run over his 1.1 innings of work.
at Longwood – Saturday, Feb. 28 (Game 2) // L, 3-6
- Longwood scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie and went on to defeat Youngstown State 6-3 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
- The Lancers jumped in front with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning before the Penguins answered with a three-run top half of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Longwood tied the score with a single run in the fifth before moving ahead with three tallies in the eighth. Reliever JR Fordham retired the Guins in order in the ninth to give the Lancers the doubleheader sweep and a 2-1 series edge.
- Rossi hit a two-run blast for his first home run as a Penguin while James Carlson doubled and scored a run. Ruffner singled and scored a run while Miscavage singled and drove in a run for YSU offensively.
- Mikey Rodriques allowed two runs on one hit with a career-high six strikeouts over two innings in his first career start on the mound. Brevin Smith was responsible for one run on three hits with four punchouts over 2.2 innings as the first of four relievers to appear for Youngstown State. Tyler Heflin struck out four batters over 2.1 scoreless innings of relief while Griffin Almond surrendered three runs in the eighth to suffer the loss.
at Longwood – Sunday, March 1 // L, 4-6
- Chyran Humphries and Alex Jang each hit home runs for the Penguins, but Longwood scored the final four runs of the game to overcome a two-run deficit and defeat Youngstown State 6-4 in the series finale on Sunday at Buddy Bolding Stadium.
- The Lancers jumped ahead 2-0 before the Penguins scored the next four runs of the contest to take a 4-2 lead. Longwood scored once in fourth and twice in the sixth to regain the advantage while adding a single tally in the seventh for the final margin.
- Jang went 3-for-4 with a double and his first career home run while Humphries hit his first homer as a Penguin. Rossi recorded an RBI double while Kuriger and Spencer added two hits apiece.
- YSU starter Brandon Mikos was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits with four strikeouts over 5.1 innings on the mound. Zmolik was responsible for one unearned run while pitching 1.1 innings as one of four relievers for appear for the Penguins.
Up Next
Youngstown State will conclude its early season road stretch with a three-game weekend series at Southern Indiana on March 6-8.
