Youngstown State notebook: Softball team takes doubleheader from Arkansas Pine-Bluff

The Youngstown State softball team won its third and fourth straight games on Tuesday afternoon by sweeping a doubleheader at Arkansas Pine-Bluff. The scores at the Torii Hunter Softball Complex were 7-2 and 8-0.

The Penguins, who beat Providence and Saint Louis on Sunday, improved their record to 6-8 with the two wins over the Lady Lions. UAPB dropped to 2-16 with the two losses.

Sophie Howell tied her career high with 11 strikeouts in the opener, and Devan Ryan pitched a five-hit shutout in game two. Offensively, Sara Fessler went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs in game one, and Avrey Schumacher drove in three runs in game two.

Youngstown State will continue its Spring Break trip on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Memphis. The twinbill against the Tigers will start at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Swimming: Penguins Look to Make Splash at CSCAA National Invitational

10 members of the men’s swimming program will compete at the CSCAA National Invitational beginning on Thursday and concluding on Saturday at the Elkhart Health and Aquatics Center in Elkhart, Ind.

Prelims are set to begin at 9:30 a.m. each day while finals are set to kick off at 6 p.m.

The Penguins set to compete are Soma Albert, Wilson Cannon, Rares Druga, Darren Laing, Jasper Liekens, Aleksa Radenovic, Karan Raju, Gavin Redden, James Slessor, and Gavin Webb.

Youngstown State is coming off a historic outing at the Horizon League Championships, placing fourth, the highest team finish in program history.

Radenovic led the Penguins with three podium finishes, one being an individual Horizon League title, becoming the second YSU man to ever do so. He won the 200 fly with a time of 1:45.23. He finished third in both the 100 fly and 200 IM, swimming a school-record time of 1:47.23 in the 200 IM. He is set to compete in the 50 fly, 200 IM, 100 fly, and 200 fly at the Invite.

Webb won back-to-back titles in the 1650 free with a school-record time of 15:19.52, after becoming the first man in YSU history to win a Horizon League title last season. He also found the podium in the 500 freestyle with a school-record time and finished fifth in the 400 IM. Webb will compete in the 500 free, 400 IM, 1000 free, and 1650 free at the meet.

Albert is set to compete in the 50 back, 500 free, 100 back, and 200 back. He logged a top-four finish in the 200 back at conference with a time of 1:46.31. Redden earned a finals appearance in the 100 free, swimming a school-record time of 44.57 to place seventh. He will compete in the 50 fly, 100 fly, and 100 free.

Slessor, a freshman breaststroker delivering an impressive rookie season with the Penguins, is set to compete in the 100 IM, 50 breast, 100 breast, and 200 breast. At the league championships, he finished sixth in the 100 breast with a school-record time of 54.59. He also earned a spot in the 200 breast finals, finishing seventh overall.

Raju rounded out the top-8 in the 200 fly and will be competing in the 50 and 200 fly at the invite. Cannon won the consolation final of the 100 fly with a time of 48.48 for a ninth-place overall finish. He is set to compete in the 50 fly, 100 fly, 100 IM, and 100 free.

Druga will compete in the 50 back and 50 free while Laing is set to compete in the 50 back and 50 fly. Liekens will be racing in the 50 fly, 200 IM, 100 IM, and 200 fly.

The team will also compete in the 400 medley, 200 medley, 800 free, 400 free, and 200 free relays. Albert, Slessor, Radenovic, and Redden are the 400 medley relay squad while Druga, Slessor, Radenovic, and Cannon will swim in the 200 medley relay. Raju, Radenovic, Liekens, and Webb will compete in the 800 free relay while Druga, Laing, Redden, and Cannon are set to swim in both the 400 free and 200 free relays.

Lacrosse: Calandra-Ryan Named MAC Offensive Player of the Week

Sophomore Natalie Calandra-Ryan was named the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Offensive Player of the Week following her two impressive performance in games against Niagara and No. 3 Northwestern this week, the league announced on Tuesday.

Calandra-Ryan, a member of the women’s lacrosse team, scored three goals against Niagara to complete her fourth hat trick of the season. She also tallied four draw controls against the Purple Eagles.

Calandra-Ryan, a native of Auburn, N.Y., scored a goal against No. 3 Northwestern and also netted five draw controls, which were the most of all players. She also grabbed two ground balls on the day.

Youngstown State will return to action hosting Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, March 14 at Farmers National Bank Field. First draw is set for 1 p.m.

Women’s golf: Team to play dual match vs. Winthrop on Wednesday

The Youngstown State women’s golf team will continue its spring slate on Wednesday when it competes in a dual match against Winthrop at Rock Hill Country Club in Rock Hill, S.C.

The Penguins are coming off a 12th-place finish at the Columbia Classic on Feb. 13 in their second event of the spring season. YSU began the spring with a 5-1 match play victory over the Citadel on Feb. 4 to earn its third tournament win of the 2022-23 season.

The two teams will play 18 holes of stroke play on Wednesday with individuals teeing off at noon and players in the lineup to follow. There will be no live scoring, and results will be posted following the conclusion of play.

Head Coach Nate Miklos has announced that YSU’s six-player lineup will feature Puthita Khuanrudee, Danae Rugola, Titita Loudtragulngam, Madie Smithco, Lizzie Saur and Christina Lewis. In addition, Chaela Barnett and Adena Rugola will be competing as individuals.

Khuanrudee, Danae Rugola, Loudtragulngam, Smithco and Saur have competed in all seven tournaments so far this season. Barnett will be competing in her fourth event of the season while Adena Rugola will be participating in her third tournament of the campaign.

Men’s golf: Kreps leads Penguins at Daytona Beach Spring Invitational

Redshirt senior Cade Kreps finished tied for 39th individually to lead the Youngstown State men’s golf team to a 14th-place team finish on Tuesday in the Daytona Beach Spring Invitational hosted by Eastern Kentucky at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Penguins finished 14th as a team with a three-round total of 912 in their first event of the spring season. YSU posted team scores of 309 and 307 in the first two rounds, respectively, on Monday. The Guins finished the tournament with a 296 in the final session on Tuesday.

Kreps was YSU’s top finisher for the second time this season, finishing tied for 39th with a three-round score of 225 (78-72-75). The Boardman, Ohio, native fired an even-par 72 in the second round that featured 12 pars and three birdies. The redshirt senior recorded a one-under-par 35 on the back nine during the second session.

Bryan Kordupel finished tied for 48th with a three-round total of 227 (77-79-71). The Boardman, Ohio, native carded a one-under-par 71 in the final round that included 13 pars and three birdies. The fifth-year senior turned in a one-under-par 35 on the front nine during the final round of action.

Ryan Sam finished tied for 58th with a three-round 229 (78-77-74). The Canfield, Ohio, native fired a two-over-par 74 in the final round that featured 11 pars and three birdies. The true freshman notched a one-over-par 37 on both the front and back nines during the final session.

Playing as an individual, Jacob Sylak finished the tournament with a career-best three-round score of 230 (77-73-80). The Mineral Ridge, Ohio, native recorded a season-low, one-over-par 73 in the second round on Monday that included 11 pars and three birdies. The sophomore fired an even-par 36 on the front nine during the second round.

Dean Austalosh concluded the tournament with a three-round total of 235 (80-79-76). The redshirt junior posted a four-over-par 76 in the final round that featured 12 pars and a pair of birdies. Cole Christman finished the event with a three-round score of 237 (76-80-81). The senior’s four-over-par 76 in the opening round included 11 pars and two birdies.

Playing as individuals, Conner Stevens wrapped up the tournament with a three-round score of 240 (78-79-83) while Brian Terlesky finished with a three-round 241 (83-78-80).

Embry-Riddle won the tournament title by one stroke over Longwood with a three-round team total of 879. Loyola Chicago placed third with an 880 while North Dakota State (881) and Long Island (883) rounded out the top five. Florida’s Ryan Hart earned medalist honors by one stroke with a three-round 207 (69-68-70).

Youngstown State will continue its spring season on March 18-19 with the Carpetbagger Classic hosted by Binghamton Worthington Manor Golf Club in Urbana, Md.

Women’s tennis: Penguins head out to California for three matches

The Penguins are set to face Long Beach State on Wednesday, CSUN on Thursday and Cal State Fullerton on Friday. The contests against LBSU and CSUN are set for 5 p.m. Eastern/2 p.m. Pacific while the final contest vs. the Titans is set for 4:30 p.m. Eastern/1:30 p.m. Pacific.

YSU has been off since playing at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 18.

Cecilia Rosas leads the Penguins with four singles wins this spring while four others have three victories.

This will be third contest at Long Beach State (4-3), fourth at CSUN (6-2) and third at Fullerton (7-2). The Guins played all three programs on a California swing last year.

Baseball: Team falls to Kent State

The Youngstown State baseball team dropped its first midweek game of the 2023 season on Tuesday, falling 22-1 to Kent State in seven innings at Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.

Andre Good and Matt Thompson had hits for the Penguins, who are between weekend series against Big 12 opponents. YSU split a four-game series at Baylor last weekend, and it will play a three-game set at Kansas State this upcoming weekend.

The Golden Flashes scored three runs on four hits and a walk in the first, and they hit two solo homers and a grand slam in the bottom of the second to take a 9-0 lead. All of the offense happened after YSU starter Brandin Anderson retired the first two Kent State batters of the inning.

Jake Casey, who hit the grand slam in the second, hit a three-run homer as part of a seven-run third inning for the Golden Flashes. Kent State added three runs in the fourth and three more in the sixth.

YSU’s run came with two outs in the top of the seventh. Trey Pancake drew a two-out walk, and Thompson followed with an RBI double to center.

Youngstown State used four pitchers in the game, and outfielder Chase Franken made his first career appearance in the sixth. Anderson was charged with nine runs in 1.2 innings in the loss.

Aidan Longwell pitched the first five innings for Kent State and struck out nine batters to earn his first win of the season. Casey finished 3-for-6 with seven RBIs at the plate for the Golden Flashes.

The Penguins will begin their three-game series against the Wildcats on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern. The teams will also play at 5 pm. Eastern on Saturday and at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.