Penguins Venture to Chicago to Face Former HL Rival UIC in Non-League Series

The Youngstown State baseball team (9-31, 6-9 HL) will venture to Chicago this weekend for a three-game non-league series at former Horizon League rival UIC (15-23-1, 10-5 MVC).

The Penguins and Flames are scheduled to open the series on Friday at noon ET at Curtis Granderson Stadium before proceeding to play on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

YSU's games on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast live on ESPN+ while live stats will be available throughout the series through links on posted on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State at UIC

Date	Location	Video	Live Stats
Friday April 24 \| 12 PM ET	Curtis Granderson Stadium Chicago, Ill.	None	Live Stats
Saturday April 25 \| 3 PM ET	Curtis Granderson Stadium Chicago, Ill.	ESPN+	Live Stats
Sunday April 26 \| 2 PM ET	Curtis Granderson Stadium Chicago, Ill.	ESPN+	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 slated to start game two of the series on Saturday. Redshirt senior right-hander Brandon Mikos is scheduled to take the ball for YSU in the series finale on Sunday.
The Penguins have won four of their last five games after winning four straight contests from April 17-21. YSU earned the three-game Horizon League series sweep at Oakland last weekend. YSU held on for a 13-12 victory in game one of a doubleheader on April 17 to open the series before collecting the series win with a 16-2 triumph in seven innings game two of the twin bill. The Penguins completed the series sweep with a 6-4 win in the finale on April 18. YSU picked up its first series sweep since winning three contests at Purdue Fort Wayne on May 5-7, 2023. The Penguins recorded their two highest scoring outputs of the 2026 season with 13 runs and 15 hits in Friday's series opener at Oakland followed by seasons highs of 16 runs and 17 hits in game two of the doubleheader sweep.
Youngstown State pushed its winning streak to four games with an 11-10 non-league victory at Toledo on Tuesday. YSU banged out 13 hits, including four home runs and two doubles, to fend off the Rockets. Belting home runs for the Guins on Tuesday were Garrett Cutting, Ryan Schummer, Teddy Ruffner and Brady Shannon. Shannon's home run was his league-leading 12th blast of the 2026 season. On the mound, Aidan English pitched three solid innings of relief allowing just two unearned runs on three hits and racked up three strikeouts to earn the victory. Mikey Rodriques came on with two outs and two on in the seventh and retired the first four batters he faced. With runners on first and second in the ninth, Sumner Estes replaced Rodriques and induced a fly out to end the game.
Youngstown State earned its first Horizon League series win of the season after taking two of three games at Milwaukee on April 3-4. The Penguins swept a doubleheader with wins of 5-3 and 7-4 on April 3 before dropping a 5-1 decision in the series finale on April 4. YSU earned a 6-5 comeback victory over Oakland in its Horizon League opener on March 13 at Pullman Park in Butler, Pa.
Friday's series opener in Chicago will be the first meeting on the diamond between YSU and UIC since May 21, 2022. Youngstown State and UIC met each season as Horizon League members from 2004 to 2019 before the 2020 conference slate was wiped out due to COVID-19. The Penguins and Flames renewed the series in 2021, meeting 14 more times as HL foes until UIC departed for the Missouri Valley Conference following the 2022 season.
Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt was named as one of 43 semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Award on Wednesday. The Howland, Ohio, native was also named the Under Armour Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time in 2026 on Monday. Gebhardt allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts over 6.1 innings to earn his third win of the season in YSU's 16-2 victory at Oakland in game two of a doubleheader on April 17. Gebhardt, who was named to the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Watch List in March, 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. He allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts over six innings to earn his second victory of the season in YSU's 5-3 series-opening win at Milwaukee on April 3. 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 April 22, Gebhardt leads the Horizon League while ranking 29th nationally with 74 strikeouts and 14th in the country with 10 games started. He also paces the league in ERA (2.21), innings pitched (61.0), WHIP (1.05) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.36) heading into the weekend. Gebhardt ranks 30th nationally in ERA while ranking second in the league in hits allowed per nine innings (7.08). The senior southpaw became just the ninth pitcher in YSU history to reach 200 career strikeouts in the series opener with Wright State on April 10. He currently ranks seventh in program history with 210 career strikeouts, and he ranks 12th in school history with 220.0 career innings pitched.
Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon leads the Horizon League with 12 home runs while also ranking fourth in the league with a .562 slugging percentage. The Youngstown, Ohio, native leads YSU with 12 homers, 26 runs scored, 25 RBIs and 68 total bases. Shannon went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and four RBIs in the series opener at NKU on March 27. Shannon currently ranks tied for tied for eighth in YSU history with 22 career home runs. The redshirt junior has also become the first player in program history to hit at least 10 homers in two different seasons.
Redshirt junior utility player Nathan Beckley has now hit safely in 18 of his last 23 games after putting together a nine-game hitting streak from March 14-28. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native is batting .307 and slugging .504 while leading the Penguins in doubles (12), triples (2) and walks (17). Beckley ranks second in the Horizon League with 12 doubles, third with two triples, ninth with 17 walks, 10th with a .307 batting average and 10th with a .504 slugging percentage.
Redshirt junior infielder Luke Rossi had his 10-game hitting streak come to an end in Tuesday's win at Toledo. The Salinas, Calif., native is batting .280 and slugging .427 with six doubles and two home runs over 27 games played and 24 starts. Rossi went 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored in YSU's series-opening win at Oakland on April 17. The first-year transfer from the College of San Mateo has now reached base safely in 13 consecutive contests heading into the weekend.
Senior right-hander Jack Messmore ranks fourth in the Horizon League in innings pitched (48.1), fifth in ERA (5.96) and 10th in strikeouts (30). The Niceville, Fla., native has matched his teammate Gebhardt with a team and league best 10 starts on the mound to rank 14th nationally in games started. 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. The senior earned his first win of the season after allowing four runs and fanning three batters while matching his season high of 6.1 innings pitched in YSU's 7-4 win at Milwaukee on April 3. Messmore also hit a home run in his first plate appearance of the season while serving as the designated hitter in the series opener with Wright State on April 10.
Freshman infielder Alex Jang is batting .286 and slugging .443 over 37 games played and 33 starts. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has hit safely in 17 of his last 25 games while putting together a season-best five-game hitting streak from March 21-27. 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 March 24 before going 2-for-5 with a two-run home run at Pitt on March 25. Jang also went 3-for-5 with his first career triple in the series opener at Milwaukee on April 3. He finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored in YSU's 16-2 win at Oakland on April 17. Jang is tied for eighth in the Horizon League with a team high 40 hits on the season.
Freshman infielder Misael Uriepero has hit safely in seven of his last nine games to improve his batting average to .254 while being the only Penguin to play in and start all 40 games to this point in the 2026 season. The Caracas, Venezuela, native matched his career high with three hits by going 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in YSU's victory at Toledo on Tuesday. Uriepero ranks tied for sixth in the Horizon League with a team-high 11 stolen bases heading into the weekend.
Youngstown State's pitching staff ranks second in the Horizon League with a 7.37 team ERA and 274 strikeouts ahead of Friday's series opener at UIC. Offensively, the Penguins rank second in the Horizon League with 67 doubles while ranking third with 162 walks and 51 stolen bases. 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 have been hit hard by injuries to key position players throughout the 2026 season. Fifth-year senior outfielder Kendal Spencer started each of YSU's first 17 games before suffering a season-ending injury vs. Oakland on March 15. Sophomore infielder Jay Wrona, who was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in 2025, played in just six games before being shut down due to injury. Sophomore catcher Caleb Hadley played in 10 games before also being lost for the season due to injury. Redshirt junior infielder Luke Rossi has missed 13 games due to injury, senior outfielder Brayden Kuriger has missed the last 11 contests and redshirt freshman infielder Nick Miscavage has missed a total of 27 games.
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 YSU five wins in its last six games.
Give the Guins three wins in their last four meetings with the Flames.
Give YSU its first win over UIC in Chicago since May 13, 2022.
Give the Penguins two wins in their last three games at Curtis Granderson Stadium.
Give Trevor Charpie his 25th career coaching victory.

Scouting UIC

UIC enters this weekend's series with a 15-23-1 overall record and a 10-5 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play following a pair of non-league losses earlier this week. The Flames dropped a 9-8 decision at home to Northern Illinois on Tuesday before falling 6-4 to Iowa on Wednesday at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa.
UIC has won six of its last nine games after sweeping each of its last two MVC weekend series. The Flames are currently tied with defending regular-season and tournament champion Murray State atop the Missouri Valley standings heading into the weekend. UIC swept Valparaiso in a three-game series in Chicago this past weekend following a three-game sweep of Murray State at Curtis Granderson Stadium on April 10-12. The Flames were picked third in the 2026 MVC Baseball Preseason Poll after finishing with a 22-33 overall record and a 16-11 mark in conference play last season.
Ashton Kampa leads the Flames with a .343 batting average and a .657 slugging percentage. Jake Busson leads the Missouri Valley with 12 home runs while ranking third in the conference with 39 RBIs. UIC ranks fourth in the MVC with a .270 team batting average while ranking third in the conference with 41 home runs.
Junior right-hander Mason Lei owns a 4-4 record and a 4.20 ERA while leading the Flames with 49 strikeouts and 60 innings pitched over 10 starts on the mound. Senior left-hander Brandon Bak has a 3-4 record and a 5.91 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 53.1 innings over 10 starts. Graduate right-hander Zack Millsap has posted five saves over 14 relief appearances while graduate right-hander Mark Eddie has made a team high 18 appearances, all of which have come out of the bullpen. UIC ranks seventh in the Missouri Valley with a 6.61 team ERA.

Series History

Overall: UIC leads 68-32
Charpie: 0-0 // Home: 26-23 // Away: 4-42 // Neutral: 2-3
Current Win Streak: 1 by UIC
Last Meeting: May 21, 2022 (L, 6-18)
First Meeting: May 14, 2004 (W 11-8)
Friday's series opener in Chicago will be the first meeting on the diamond between YSU and UIC since May 21, 2022. Youngstown State and UIC met each season as Horizon League members from 2004 to 2019 before the 2020 conference slate was wiped out due to COVID-19. The Penguins and Flames renewed the series in 2021, meeting 14 more times as HL foes until UIC departed for the Missouri Valley Conference following the 2022 season.
Youngstown State has won just four of the 46 all-time meetings between the two programs in Chicago. With a 1-0 victory on April 30, 2021, the Penguins snapped a nine-game losing streak at UIC and picked up their first win over the Flames in Chicago since 2016. Most recently, YSU split a doubleheader at Curtis Granderson Stadium on May 13, 2022. The Guins won game one 8-3 before falling to the Flames 7-3 in the night cap.
YSU won two of three meetings at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood on May 19-21, 2022, in the most recent matchups between the two programs. The Penguins won the first two games by final scores of 6-4 and 10-6, respectively, before falling 18-6 in the series finale.

Up Next

Youngstown State will begin a seven-game homestand at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood when it opens a three-game Horizon League series with Northern Kentucky on May 1. First pitch for the series opener with the Norse is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and iHeartRadio.

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