The Youngstown State baseball team (9-34, 6-9 HL) will host Northern Kentucky (20-23, 9-9 HL) for a three-game Horizon League series beginning on Friday evening at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood in Niles, Ohio. The Penguins and Norse will open the series at 6 p.m. on Friday before playing on Saturday at 3 p.m. and on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Live audio will be available for all three games on 1390 WNIO and the iHeartRadio app while live stats will be available through links posted on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State vs. Northern Kentucky

Opponent	Date	Location	Audio	Live Stats
	Friday May 1 | 6 PM ET	717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood Niles, Ohio	1390 WNIO	Live Stats
	Saturday May 2 | 3 PM ET	717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood Niles, Ohio	1390 WNIO	Live Stats
	Sunday May 3 | 1 PM ET	717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood Niles, Ohio	1390 WNIO	Live Stats

Promotions and Fan Information

• 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood
• 2026 YSU Baseball Promotions Schedule
• Friday's series opener will be YSU's second annual "Pack Eastwood" promotion featuring free admission, a YSU Rally Towel giveaway and a Chick-Fil-A Sandwich Card giveaway while supplies last. Members of the YSU Pep Band will also be in attendance.
• Admission for YSU's games on Saturday and Sunday will be $5 at the front gate, which will open approximately one hour prior to first pitch. Youngstown State students receive free admission with a valid YSU ID.
• Saturday's contest will feature $4 16-ounce beer and a YSU Flag giveaway while Sunday's series finale will include a YSU Pete Growth Chart giveaway. The series finale will also be a "Varsity Club Youngstown Sunday" with fans receiving a $5 off app coupon if YSU scores five runs or more.
• Fans are advised that pets are not permitted inside the gates at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood.

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 dropped four straight decisions after being swept in a three-game non-league series at UIC this past weekend. The Flames won the series opener 10-7 on Friday before picking up victories of 6-3 and 5-0 over the final two games of the series, respectively.
• In its most recent Horizon League competition, Youngstown State earned the three-game series sweep at Oakland on April 17-19. 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 the series opener at Oakland followed by seasons highs of 16 runs and 17 hits in game two of the doubleheader sweep.
• 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.
• 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 April 22. The Howland, Ohio, native was also named the Under Armour Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time in 2026 on April 20. 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.
• Through games completed on April 28, Gebhardt leads the Horizon League while ranking 37th nationally with 77 strikeouts and 18th in the country with 11 games started. He also paces the league in ERA (2.77), innings pitched (65.0) and WHIP (1.14). 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. Gebhardt currently ranks seventh in program history with 213 career strikeouts, and he ranks 12th in school history with 224.0 career innings pitched. He allowed his first earned run of the 2026 season during his 30th inning of work in his fifth start against Oakland on March 13.
• Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon leads the Horizon League with 12 home runs while also ranking ninth in the league with a .530 slugging percentage. The Youngstown, Ohio, native leads YSU with 12 homers, 26 runs scored, 25 RBIs and 70 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 19 of his last 26 games after putting together a nine-game hitting streak from March 14-28. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native is batting .290 and slugging .478 while leading the Penguins in doubles (13), triples (2) and walks (18). Beckley ranks third in the Horizon League in both doubles and triples.
• Freshman infielder Alex Jang is batting .296 and slugging .441 over 40 games played and 36 starts. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has hit safely in seven of his last eight games and in 20 of his last 28 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 also went 3-for-5 with his first career triple in the series opener at Milwaukee on April 3. Jang is tied for 10th in the Horizon League with a team high 45 hits on the season.
• Senior right-hander Jack Messmore ranks fourth in the Horizon League in innings pitched (54.2), fifth in ERA (5.76) and ninth in strikeouts (34). The Niceville, Fla., native has matched his teammate Gebhardt with a team and league best 11 starts on the mound to rank 18th 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 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.
• Redshirt senior infielder Garrett Cutting owns a seven-game hitting streak entering this weekend's series with NKU. Over that seven-game stretch, Cutting is batting .345 and slugging .793 with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has hit a home run in three of his last five games.
• Freshman infielder Misael Uriepero has hit safely in eight of his last 12 games while being the only Penguin to play in and start all 43 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 11-10 victory at Toledo on April 21. Uriepero ranks tied for eighth in the Horizon League with a team-high 11 stolen bases.
• Youngstown State ranks second in the Horizon League with 71 doubles as a team while ranking third with six triples and 169 walks. 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 15 games due to injury, and redshirt freshman infielder Nick Miscavage has missed a total of 30 games throughout the campaign. Senior outfielder Brayden Kuriger, who was named to the 2025 Horizon League All-Tournament Team, has missed the last 14 contests after starting each of YSU's first 29 games in the outfield.
• 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 four straight wins in Horizon League play.
• Improve YSU's Horizon League record to 7-9.
• Snap a four-game losing skid.
• Give the Guins their first win of the season at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood.
• Snap a six-game losing streak in the series with NKU.
• Give Trevor Charpie his 25th career coaching victory.

Scouting Northern Kentucky

• Northern Kentucky enters this weekend's series with a 20-23 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Horizon League play following a 16-6 home loss to Eastern Kentucky in non-league play on Tuesday. The Norse are currently a game behind Milwaukee in third place in the Horizon League standings. NKU swept Oakland in a three-game series in Highland Heights, Ky., this past weekend in its most recent Horizon League contests.
• Senior infielder Marcus Harrison leads NKU and ranks third in the Horizon League with a .354 batting average while ranking second in the league with 52 hits, second with a .484 on-base percentage, fourth with 37 runs scored, fourth with 29 walks and fifth with 36 RBIs. Junior catcher Jake Paulick leads the Horizon League with 36 walks and a .495 on-base percentage while ranking second in home runs (10), second in RBIs (39), second in slugging percentage (.618), third in runs scored (43), fifth in hits (48), sixth in batting average (.333) and seventh in doubles (11).
• As a team, Northern Kentucky leads the Horizon League in runs scored (328), hits (390), doubles (89), home runs (44), RBIs (300) and walks (231). The Norse currently rank second in the league with a .274 team batting average.
• Graduate left-hander EJ Miramontes leads Northern Kentucky while ranking in the top 10 in the Horizon League with 39 strikeouts, 48 innings pitched and three wins over 11 starts on the mound. Senior right-hander Elijah Green ranks second on the squad with 33 strikeouts and 41.1 innings pitched over 13 appearances and eight starts. Junior right-hander Jared Teke has a team-high four saves in 19 appearances out of the bullpen. NKU ranks fourth in the Horizon League with an 8.26 team ERA.

Series History

• Overall: Northern Kentucky leads 40-15
• Charpie: 1-8 // H: 5-19 // A: 9-20 // N: 1-1
• Current Win Streak: 6 by NKU
• Last Meeting: March 29, 2026 (L, 4-5)
• First Meeting: May 20, 1977 (L, 3-4)
• Friday's series opener will mark the fourth meeting of the 2026 season between YSU and Northern Kentucky. The Norse won three one-run decisions to sweep a three-game series in Highland Heights, Ky., earlier this season on March 27-29. NKU won each of the first two games of the series in 10 innings before earning a 5-4 victory in the finale.
• Youngstown State finished with a 1-5 record in six regular season meetings with Northern Kentucky during the 2025 season. The Norse have won each of the last six meetings and 14 of the last 16 encounters dating back to the start of the 2024 season.
• All but one of the 55 all-time meetings on the diamond between YSU and NKU have come since the Norse joined the Horizon League in 2016.

Up Next

Youngstown State will continue a season long seven-game homestand at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood on Wednesday with a non-league contest against Eastern Michigan. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on 1390 WNIO and the iHeartRadio app.