The Youngstown State baseball team (3-19, 1-2 HL) will return to Horizon League play on Friday when it begins a three-game weekend series against Northern Kentucky (10-13, 3-3 HL) at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Highland Heights, Ky.

The Penguins and Norse are scheduled to open the series on Friday at 3 p.m. before proceeding to play on Saturday at 1 p.m. and on Sunday at noon.

The first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast live on ESPN+ while live stats will be available throughout the weekend through links posted on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State at Northern Kentucky

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Live Stats
	Friday March 27 | 3 PM ET	Bill Aker Baseball Complex Highland Heights, Ky.	ESPN+	Live Stats
	Saturday March 28 | 1 PM ET	Bill Aker Baseball Complex Highland Heights, Ky.	ESPN+	Live Stats
	Sunday March 29 | 12 PM ET	Bill Aker Baseball Complex Highland Heights, Ky.	None	Live Stats

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt will start on the mound for the Penguins in the series opener on Friday while senior right-hander Jack Messmore is scheduled to take the ball in game two on Saturday. Junior right-hander Mikey Rodriques is slated as the probable starter in the series finale on Sunday.
• Youngstown State has dropped four straight decisions after falling in a pair of non-league road contests earlier this week. The Penguins suffered an 8-7 walk-off loss at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday before falling by the same score in the bottom of the ninth at Pitt on Wednesday. YSU's most recent victory was a 3-2 series-opening win at Georgetown on March 20.
• The Penguins earned a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over Oakland in their Horizon League opener on March 13 at Pullman Park in Butler, Pa. The Golden Grizzlies evened the series with a 12-6 win on March 14 before picking up the series win with a 4-3 victory in the finale on March 15. YSU earned its first victory of the 2026 season with a 2-1 win in the series opener at Longwood on Feb 27.
• Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt was named to the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Watch List earlier this month. The Howland, Ohio, native was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week three times in as many weeks to begin the 2026 season. Gebhardt earned his third consecutive weekly league honor after posting a career-high 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on the mound in YSU's 2-1 series-opening win at Longwood on Feb. 27. The senior southpaw scattered five hits while walking just two batters and matching the longest outing of his career for the second straight week.
• Most recently, Gebhardt did not allow an earned run while scattering three hits and fanning seven batters over six innings to earn his first win of the season in YSU's 3-2 series-opening victory at Georgetown on March 20. The senior allowed his first earned run of the 2026 season during his 30th inning of work in his fifth start against Oakland on March 13. Through games completed on March 25, Gebhardt led the Horizon League while ranking 22nd nationally with 47 strikeouts. He also paced the league in ERA (1.18), opponent batting average (.172) and innings pitched (38.0) heading into the weekend. Gebhardt ranks 17th nationally in ERA while leading the league in WHIP (0.87) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.45). He is 17 strikeouts away from becoming the ninth pitcher in program history to record at least 200 career strikeouts.
• Gebhardt, who earned the first weekly Horizon League honor of his career following opening weekend, did not allow an earned run while limiting Oregon to two hits over seven strong innings on the mound in YSU's 3-0 loss to the Ducks on Feb. 20 at PK Park in Eugene, Ore. He also recorded 11 strikeouts over six innings in a stellar Opening Day effort in a 2-1 loss at Auburn in the 2026 season opener on Feb. 13. In the first start of his senior season, Gebhardt was responsible for one unearned run on two hits with 11 strikeouts over six innings on the mound. He posted the most strikeouts in a game by a YSU pitcher since Collin Floyd fanned 12 batters against Milwaukee on April 9, 2021.
• Senior right-hander Jack Messmore ranks fifth in the Horizon League in innings pitched (26.2), fifth in ERA (6.07) and sixth in strikeouts (19). The first-year transfer from New Mexico scattered six hits and struck out five batters over 6.1 scoreless innings in game one of a doubleheader at Auburn on Feb. 14 in his YSU debut. Messmore recorded a season-high six strikeouts in his fifth start of the season against Oakland on March 14.
• Freshman infielder Alex Jang ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a .515 slugging percentage while also ranking sixth in OPS (.912) and seventh in both batting average (.333) and hits (22). The Las Vegas, Nev., native leads YSU in hits (22), RBIs (8) and total bases (34). The freshman has now hit safely in four straight games and in 10 of his last 13 contests. Jang recorded a career-high three hits including his first-career home run and a double in the series finale at Longwood on March 1. He matched his career high with three hits at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday before going 2-for-5 with a two-run home run at Pitt on Wednesday.
• Fifth-year senior outfielder Kendal Spencer ranks tied for third in the Horizon League with a team-high seven stolen bases in nine attempts through games completed on March 25. Spencer recorded three of YSU's season-high eight steals in a league-opening win over Oakland on March 13. Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon ranks tied for fourth in the league with a team leading four home runs. Shannon hit the go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the sixth inning to help send YSU to a 3-2 series-opening win over Georgetown on March 20. Redshirt junior utility player Nathan Beckley has now hit safely in each of his last seven games after recording a season-high three hits including a home run at Pitt on Wednesday.
• Youngstown State's pitching staff ranked atop the Horizon League with 156 strikeouts through games played on March 25. The Penguins rank second in the league with a 5.47 team ERA and a .282 opponent batting average. YSU pitchers had also allowed the second-fewest total runs (157), earned runs (114), hits (203) and walks (119) in the league heading into the weekend.
• YSU recorded eight stolen bases as a team in a 6-5 league-opening victory over Oakland at Pullman Park on March 13. The eight steals were the program's most since the Penguins tied the single-game school record with nine steals against Toledo on April 10, 2019. The series opener with the Golden Grizzlies marked just the fifth time in school history that YSU swiped at least eight bases in a game. The Penguins currently rank second in the Horizon League with 32 stolen bases as a team in 42 total attempts.
• 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 returned 15 letterwinners from last year's team and have 21 newcomers to the roster.

Series Preview

A Win on Friday Would…

• Give the Penguins their fourth victory of the 2026 season.
• Snap a four-game losing streak.
• Improve YSU's Horizon League record to 2-2.
• Snap a three-game losing skid in the series with the Norse.
• Give Trevor Charpie his 19th career coaching victory.

Scouting Northern Kentucky

• Northern Kentucky enters this weekend's series with a 10-13 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Horizon League play after a 7-6 loss at Bellarmine on Tuesday. The Norse opened league play by dropping two of three home games to Milwaukee before winning two of three contests at Oakland last weekend. NKU's first win of the season was a 3-2 victory in the series finale at South Carolina on Feb. 14.
• Redshirt senior infielder Marcus Harrison is batting a league-best .365 and slugging .459 while redshirt junior catcher Jake Paulick is batting .347 and slugging .639 with team highs of six home runs, 23 RBIs and 17 walks. Redshirt junior outfielder Josh Williams is batting .266 and slugging .570 with six homers and 19 RBIs. As a team, NKU leads the Horizon League with a .262 batting average, 168 runs scored, 198 hits, 40 doubles, 153 RBIs, a .403 slugging percentage and 114 walks.
• Graduate left-hander EJ Miramontes owns a 2-2 record over six starts while ranking in the top 10 in the Horizon League in ERA (5.34), strikeouts (26), innings pitched (28.2) and wins (2). Senior right-hander Logan Wilson has a 1-2 record and a 5.64 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 22.1 innings over seven appearances including four starts. Senior right-hander Gabe Stout has made a team-high 12 appearances, all of which have come out of the bullpen. As a pitching staff, the Norse are tied for second in the league with 149 strikeouts while also pacing the circuit with 130 walks issued. NKU ranks fourth in the league with an 8.81 team ERA.
• Northern Kentucky was picked third out of five teams in the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll after a vote of the league's head coaches. The Norse finished with a 31-25 overall record and an 18-12 mark in Horizon League action last season to place second in the league standings.

Series History

• Overall: Northern Kentucky leads 37-15
• Charpie: 1-5 // H: 5-19 // A: 9-17 // N: 1-1
• Current Win Streak: 3 by NKU
• Last Meeting: May 17, 2025 (L, 4-23)
• First Meeting: May 20, 1977 (L, 3-4)
• Youngstown State finished with a 1-5 record in six regular season meetings with Northern Kentucky during the 2025 season. YSU lost two of three games to NKU last April at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood. The Norse won the first two games 3-2 and 14-3, respectively, before the Guins salvaged the series finale with an 18-8 victory.
• In the most recent meetings, Northern Kentucky swept a three-game series in Highland Heights during the final weekend of the 2025 regular season. The Norse have won 11 of the last 13 encounters dating back to the start of the 2024 season.
• All but one of the 52 all-time meetings on the diamond between YSU and NKU have come since the Norse joined the Horizon League in 2016.

Recapping Eastern Michigan & Pitt

at Eastern Michigan – Tuesday, March 24 // L, 7-8

• Eastern Michigan scored four runs in the final two innings, including a walk-off walk in the bottom of the ninth, to defeat Youngstown State, 8-7, on Tuesday afternoon at Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
• Brayden Kuriger went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs while Alex Jang was 3-for-4, and Teddy Ruffner hammered two home runs.
• YSU starter Luke Zmolik allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts and three walks over a season-high four innings pitched. Lane Rhodes surrendered three runs on one hit and three walks in 1.1 innings as the first of four relievers to appear for the Penguins. Bryce Palms tossed 1.2 scoreless innings before Griffin Almond permitted three runs while recording one out. Sloan Ulrich suffered the loss after allowing the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
• The Penguins jumped out to a 6-1 lead through five-and-a-half innings after scoring once in the third, twice in the fifth and three times in the top of the sixth. Ruffner belted the first pitch he saw in the top of the third over the left-field wall for the game's first run.
• After the Eagles knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the Penguins regained a 3-1 edge in the top half of the fifth. Three straight doubles by Nathan Beckley, Garrett Cutting, and Kuriger gave the Penguins a two-run advantage.
• Ruffner hit a one-out home run to left, his second of the game, and Kuriger tripled down the right-field line to drive in Cutting, who was hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth. Kuriger raced home later in the inning on a passed ball to extend the YSU lead to 6-1.
• The Eagles plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to trim the YSU lead to 6-4, but the Penguins answered with a single run in the top of the seventh. Misael Uriepero led off the frame with a single, stole second, moved to third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch.
• Eastern Michigan tied the contest at 7-7 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth and won the game on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning.

at Pitt – Wednesday, March 25 // L, 7-8

• Pitt scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to earn an 8-7 walk-off win over Youngstown State on Wednesday afternoon at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
• The Penguins, who finished the contest with season highs of 11 hits and four home runs, jumped in front 2-0 after back-to-back solo blasts in the top of the first inning from Nathan Beckley and Brayden Kuriger. The Panthers scored the next three runs to take a 3-2 edge before the Guins regained a 4-3 advantage with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning.
• Pitt answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth to move in front 5-4 before Ryan Schummer's first home run as a Penguin in the top of the eighth evened the score at five runs apiece. The Panthers pushed across two runs in the home half of the eighth to move ahead 6-5, but Alex Jang lifted the Penguins back into the lead with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
• Lorenzo Carrier was hit by a pitch and Kai Wagner singled to begin the bottom of the ninth. Carrier and Wagner were each able to race home following a throwing error on Joey Baran's well-placed bunt single down the third base line to give Pitt the walk-off victory.
• Beckley went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, Misael Uriepero recorded a career-high three hits and scored two runs, and Jang added two hits including a two-run home run in the ninth inning.
• Brevin Smith allowed three runs on five hits over three innings on the mound in his first start as a Penguin. Sumner Estes worked 1.1 scoreless innings as the first of five YSU relievers to appear in the contest. Kale Wemer surrendered two runs in 1.1 innings while Banks Cox tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in his first appearance as a Penguin. Aidan English was responsible for one run while recording one out in the eighth, and Tyler Heflin took the loss after allowing Pitt's two runs in the ninth.

Up Next

The Penguins will return to non-league action on Tuesday with a midweek contest at Akron beginning at 2 p.m.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Tuesday's matchup with the Zips, which was originally scheduled to be played at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood in Niles, has been moved to Skeeles Field in Akron due to construction delays at YSU's home facility. The second scheduled meeting of the season between YSU and Akron on April 14 will now be played at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood.