YSUsports.com - Penguins Open Tournament Play Against Oral Roberts

HALL OF FAME PENGUIN NICKNAME FOOTBALL MEN'S BASKETBALL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY

ALUMNI CHEERLEADERS MARCHING PRIDE MAJORETTES PETE & PENNY PENGUIN

ACADEMIC SUPPORT COMPLIANCE SPORTS INFORMATION SPORTS MEDICINE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAAC)

WELCOME LETTER QUESTIONNAIRE BOOSTERS INFORMATION NCAA GUIDE LETTERS OF INTENT CAMPUS OVERVIEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS UNIVERSITY HOUSING FINANCIAL AID APPLY TO YSU

STAMBAUGH STADIUM BEEGHLY CENTER CENE PARK EASTWOOD FIELD McCUNE PARK BEEGHLY NATATORIUM YSU TENNIS COURTS BOARDMAN TENNIS CENTER MILL CREEK PARK

DIRECTORY MISSION STATEMENT SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES JOB OPPORTUNITIES NCAA CERTIFICATION COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT VISITORS GUIDE DIRECTIONS TO YSU

BASEBALL MEN'S BASKETBALL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CROSS COUNTRY FOOTBALL GOLF SOCCER SOFTBALL SWIMMING & DIVING TENNIS TRACK & FIELD VOLLEYBALL

May 15, 2001
Penguins Open Tournament Play Against Oral Roberts
   The Youngstown State baseball team travels to Tulsa, Okla., to play in the Mid-Continent Conference Baseball Tournament beginning Thursday, May 17, when the Penguins play league regular-season champion Oral Roberts. First pitch for the contest at J.L. Johnson Stadium is set for 8 p.m. Eastern time.
   YSU will play either Southern Utah or Valparaiso in the second round of the tournament. A Youngstown State win over ORU will put them in a 4:30 p.m. contest Friday while a loss sends them into the 1 p.m. elimination game.
   The Penguins (24-28-1) finished fourth in the Mid-Con standings after beating Southern Utah twice last weekend and made the tournament following an IUPUI split in a four-game series with Chicago State. Oral Roberts, the host team, has won 10 straight and 16 of its last 18 to enter the tournament with an overall record of 45-11. In league play, the Golden Eagles lost once in 25 games.
   ORU has beaten the Penguins eight consecutive times, including five straight in Tulsa. In last year’s league tournament Oral Roberts drubbed Youngstown State 26-2. Earlier this season at Cafaro Field in Youngstown, ORU won all three contests against YSU. ORU won 9-5, 8-1 and 4-2 rallying to win in two of the three games.
   The Golden Eagles have had tremendous success in the league tournament winning three straight tournaments to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. ORU has won four consecutive league regular-season titles.
   Although the deck is stacked against them, the Penguins possess one of the hottest arms in the nation in pitcher Brad Hennessey. Hennessey has allowed one earned run in his last 26 innings and has won his last three decisions. Against Oral Roberts on April 15, he struck out 13 in a seven-inning game, but YSU suffered a 4-2 setback. This year, Hennessey has set YSU single-season marks for strikeouts (115) and innings pitched (81.2). In the Major League Baseball Draft, which will be held in June, Hennessey is rumored to be a top 50 pick and at Oakland performed well in front of Detroit Tigers General Manager Randy Smith. Hennessey was named the league’s pitcher of the week on Monday.
   While Hennessey has been dominating on the mound, YSU’s bats have produced the most runs and hits in school history this season and own the second-best average in school history.

Record-Setting Season For the Penguins in 2001
   This season the Youngstown State baseball team has stepped up with some of the best individual and team performances in school history.
   For the season, Brad Hennessey is the new YSU single-season strikeout king. Hennessey has recorded 101 strikeouts this season breaking the previous mark of 89 set by Bill Sattler in 1977. Senior Steve Mefferd has set the school record for walks with 46. Joe Marzano has set a season mark striking out 46 times. Solid performances this weekend could see records established at bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, innings pitched, games started by a pitcher and appearances. Freshman Jim Lipinski has 10 home runs on the year, one shy of tying the school mark set of 11 by Joe Ayette in 1994. Hennessey has pitched in 72.2 innings this season, 5.1 short of the school mark.
   In the single-game individual category Lipinski set new standards with three homers and eight RBI against Oakland. Mefferd tied the school mark for walks in a game with four against Akron. Kellen Dixon tied the school mark with five hits against Western Illinois. Todd Santore (vs. Morehead State) and Lipinski (Akron) tied the school mark with three doubles in a game. Marzano and Lipinski tied the school mark for runs scored, scoring five times against Oakland.
   The Penguins had many school-record performances in a 29-2 win over Oakland on May 6. YSU set the school mark for runs in a game (29), home runs in a game (6), walks (15), grand slams (3), total bases (37), largest margin of victory (27) and RBI (29).
   As a team, YSU has set single-season school marks for most runs scored (377), most RBI (335) and doubles (104). The Penguins’ .327 batting average is the second best in school history behind a gaudy .344 total set in 1964 while the 527 hits are two shy of the mark set in 1999. As a team in a game, YSU has set records for runs (29), home runs (6), walks (15), grand slams (3), total bases (37), largest margin of victory (27) and RBI (29) all against Oakland. YSU also tied the school mark for doubles in a game with seven at Morehead State on March 11.