The First Pitch
The Youngstown State softball team (19-3) hosts a pair of non-conference, midweek doubleheaders at the Covelli Sports Complex, April 7-8. The Penguins host Niagara on Tuesday, April 7 at 2 p.m. and St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, April 8 at 3 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Penguins won their third straight Horizon League softball series taking two out of three games at Robert Morris on April 3-4 in Moon Township, Pa. Youngstown State won the opener, 7-4, in 10 innings and defeated the Colonials, 20-0, in the series finale. The Penguins dropped game two of the series, 8-6.

Up Next
Youngstown State returns to action with a non-conference doubleheader against Mercyhurst, Tuesday, April 14. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 3 p.m. at the Covelli Sports Complex.

About Niagara
Niagara enters the week with an overall record of 0-22. Donnalea Barnett leads the Purple Eagles with a .364 batting average while Sophia Marrero is batting .354.

About St. Bonaventure
St. Bonaventure owns a 5-31 overall mark and split a doubleheader against the Penguins on March 24. The Bonnie won the opener, 6-5, while the Penguins followed with a 9-1 victory. Leading the Bonnies is Sydney DeGram with a .340 batting average while Kendall Stull leads the team with four victories.

Penguins Set Program RBI, HL Single-Game Run Marks
In its 20-0 win over Robert Morris on April 4, Youngstown State set the program's single-game RBI record and the single-game mark for most runs scored in a Horizon League game. The Penguins' 19 runs batted in broke the old mark of 16 set in 2015 and matched in 2016, and Youngstown State's 20 runs scored are the second-most in program history while the 19 hits rank tied for third on the single-game list.

Home Sweet Home
Since the Penguins began playing their home games at the YSU Softball Field in 2014, they have found a lot of success in their home ballpark. Youngstown State is 138-76 in 214 games in its on-campus facility for a .645 winning percentage. YSU secured its 100th victory at the complex with a 5-2 victory over Green Bay on April 23, 2022.  Youngstown State has a 93-47 mark (.664) in Horizon League regular-season games played at the YSU Softball Field. Since 2021, the Penguins are 53-21 in conference regular-season contests played on their turf.

Penguins' Bats Alive
Overall, Youngstown State is batting .331 as a team and has eight players hitting .303 or better. Junior Lydia Wilkerson leads the team with a .386 batting average while senior Emma Gilkerson owns a .370 average and has a team-high eight home runs. Senior Kennedy Dean is batting .368 with 39 RBIs, which rank second in the Horizon league.

Ray Streaking
Sophomore Ayla Ray has a 10-game hit streak since March 20. Over that span, Ray batted .419 (13-for-31) with three doubles, a triple and eight runs batted in.

RISP-y Business
Youngstown State has been producing well in the clutch this season. As a team, the Penguins are batting .382 with runners in scoring position, .404 with the bases loaded, .347 with runners on, and .336 with two outs. Of Youngstown State's 222 RBIs, 98 have been recorded with two outs.