Baseball Hosts Wright State for Three-Game HL Series at Bob Cene Park

The Youngstown State baseball team (5-25, 3-6 HL) will host Wright State (14-15, 8-1 HL) this weekend for a three-game series Horizon League series at Bob Cene Park in Struthers, Ohio.

After opening the series on Friday at 1 p.m., the Penguins and Raiders will proceed to play on Saturday at 3 p.m. before concluding the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Live stats will be available through links posted on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on X for live updates.

Youngstown State vs. Wright State

Date	Location	Live Stats
Friday April 10 \| 1 PM ET	Bob Cene Park Struthers, Ohio	Live Stats
Saturday April 11 \| 3 PM ET	Bob Cene Park Struthers, Ohio	Live Stats
Sunday April 12 \| 1 PM ET	Bob Cene Park Struthers, Ohio	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 to start in the series finale on Sunday.
The Penguins have dropped their last two games after a 12-2 setback at Pitt in non-league play on Wednesday night. Youngstown State earned its first Horizon League series win of the season after taking two of three games at Milwaukee last weekend. 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.
Senior left-hander Braden Gebhardt was named to the College Baseball Foundation 2026 National Pitcher of the Year Watch List in March. 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.
Most recently, Gebhardt allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks over six innings to earn his second victory of the season in YSU's 5-3 series-opening win at Milwaukee on April 3. He 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 8, Gebhardt leads the Horizon League while ranking 22nd nationally with 62 strikeouts. He also paces the league in ERA (1.62), opponent batting average (.179) and innings pitched (50.0) heading into the weekend. Gebhardt ranks 15th nationally in ERA while leading the league in WHIP (0.92) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.76). He is two strikeouts away from becoming the ninth pitcher in program history to record at least 200 career strikeouts.
Senior right-hander Jack Messmore ranks third in the Horizon League in innings pitched (39.0), fourth in ERA (5.31) and eighth in strikeouts (26). 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. Most recently, the senior earned his first win of the season after allowing four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts while matching his season high of 6.1 innings pitched in YSU's 7-4 win at Milwaukee on April 3.
Redshirt junior utility player Nathan Beckley has now hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games after putting together a nine-game hitting streak from March 14-28. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native is batting .273 and slugging .444 while leading the Penguins in doubles (7), triples (2) and walks (14). Beckley ranks tied for second in the Horizon League with two triples while also ranking sixth with seven doubles and seventh with 14 walks. He has also reached base safely in 13 of his last 15 contests.
Freshman infielder Alex Jang is batting .284 and slugging .441 while leading YSU with 29 hits, 45 total bases and nine multi-hit performances heading into the weekend. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has hit safely in 10 of his last 15 games while putting together a 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.
Senior outfielder Brayden Kuriger has now hit safely in five straight games and in 13 of his last 15 contests. The senior went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs at Eastern Michigan on March 24 before hitting his second home run of the season at Pitt on March 25. Kuriger went 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, a walk, two runs scored and two stolen bases at Akron on March 31. He ranks second on the team with 28 hits ahead of Friday's series opener.
Redshirt junior outfielder Brady Shannon is tied for the Horizon League lead with eight home runs while also ranking sixth in the league with a .505 slugging percentage. The Youngstown, Ohio, native leads YSU with eight homers, 16 runs scored and 18 RBIs. Shannon went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and four RBIs in the series opener at NKU on March 27. He hit his eighth home run of the campaign at Pitt on Wednesday.
Youngstown State's pitching staff ranks second in the Horizon League with a 5.95 team ERA, 212 strikeouts and a .280 opponent batting average. YSU pitchers had also allowed the second-fewest total runs, earned runs and hits 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 43 stolen bases as a team in 56 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.

Promotions and Fan Information

Bob Cene Park
Admission for fans will be free for all three games at Bob Cene Park, and there will be concessions available throughout the weekend.
Friday's series opener will feature a Baseball Hat Giveaway for the first 50 YSU fans.
The first 50 YSU fans at Saturday's contest will receive a Chick-Fil-A gift card.
Sunday's series finale will include a YSU Piggy Bank Giveaway.

Series Preview

A Win on Friday Would…

Give the Penguins their sixth victory of the 2026 season.
Give YSU three wins in its last five games.
Snap a six-game losing skid in the series with Wright State.
Improve YSU's Horizon league record to 4-6.
Give the Guins three wins in their last four Horizon League contests.
Give Trevor Charpie his 21st career coaching victory.

Scouting Wright State

Wright State enters this weekend's series with a 14-15 overall record and an 8-1 mark in Horizon League play following a 4-2 loss to Xavier in non-league action on Tuesday. The Raiders hold a three-and-a-half-game lead over Northern Kentucky (6-6) in the HL standings heading into the weekend.
Sophomore infielder Hunter Warren is batting .342 and slugging .495 while leading the Horizon League with 38 hits. Junior infielder JP Peltier is batting .297 and slugging .541 with a league-high 15 doubles and a team-high 24 RBIs. The Raiders lead the Horizon League with a .259 team batting average while ranking second in runs scored and RBIs.
Junior left-hander Chet Lax owns a 5-0 record and a 2.34 ERA while leading Wright State with 34 strikeouts and 42.1 innings pitched over nine appearances and six starts. Junior left-hander Griffen Paige has a 2-4 record and a 5.40 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 36.2 innings over eight starts on the mound. The Raiders lead the Horizon League with a 5.14 team ERA and 218 strikeouts as a pitching staff.
Wright State was picked first in the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll after a vote of the league's head coaches. The Raiders finished the 2025 season with a 40-21 overall record and a 25-5 mark in Horizon League play to clinch their seventh consecutive regular season title. Wright State won the 2025 Horizon League Baseball Championship on its home field before winning two games in the NCAA Nashville Regional.

Series History

Overall: Wright State leads 106-42
Charpie: 0-6 // H: 19-48 // A: 20-57 // N: 3-1
Current Win Streak: 6 by Wright State
Last Meeting: May 4, 2025 (L, 8-12)
First Meeting: April 30, 1986 (L, 2-14)
Youngstown State has dropped six straight meetings with Wright State after being swept in a pair of three-game series during the 2025 season. The Raiders have won 13 of the last 14 encounters dating back to the start of the 2024 campaign.
YSU's most recent victory over Wright State was a 6-3 win on May 24, 2024, which eliminated the Raiders from the 2024 Horizon League Baseball Championship at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.

Recapping Last Game

at Pitt – Wednesday, April 8 // L, 2-12 (7 innings)

Youngstown State dropped a 12-2 decision to Pittsburgh on Wednesday evening at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pitt took advantage with two big innings to win the mid-week contest. The Panthers scored seven runs in the bottom of the second inning and added five in the bottom of the sixth in route to the victory.
YSU starter Aidan Dorsch took the loss after pitching 1.2 innings. Pitt's Antonio Doganiero tossed six innings to earn the victory. Aidan English pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the Penguins.
The Penguins managed six hits in the contest. Highlighting the offensive effort was a monster two-run homer by Brady Shannon in the top of the seventh inning. He launched a 1-0 pitch 434 feet to dead center field, clearing the batter's eye. Scoring on Shannon's bomb was Ryan Dilullo who walked to lead off the inning.

Up Next

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Youngstown State's scheduled midweek contest with Akron on Tuesday has been moved to Skeeles Field in Akron due to ongoing construction at 717 Credit Union Field at Eastwood. First pitch for Tuesday's non-league matchup between the Penguins and Zips is currently slated for 2 p.m.