YSU Against the NCAA Field
    The Penguins played two teams that made this year’s field of 64. YSU won one of three games at Missouri and dropped three contests at Sun Belt Champion Western Kentucky.

Penguins Against the Big 12
    Texas is the second Big 12 team that the Penguins will play this season. YSU opened the season with a three-game series at Missouri. In that series, the Penguins won the first game before dropping the next two to the Tigers. MU is the only Big 12 school YSU has ever played entering the contest against the Longhorns. The Penguins are 1-4 all-time against the Tigers, with the lone win this year.

ORU/YSU Former Conference Foes
    The Penguins and Oral Roberts should be familiar foes when the two see each other at the Austin Regional. From 1999 through 2001, the schools met annually as members of the Mid-Continent Conference. In the three-year span, the Penguins and Golden Eagles played each other 11 times. The last meeting was on May 17, 2001, in the opening round of the Mid-Con Tournament in Tulsa, Okla., a 10-3 Eagles victory.

June Streak At Two
    The Penguins have won two straight games in June, but those games were played in 1968 and 1973. The last June contest for YSU was at Wooster on June 1, 1973 -- a 12-10 victory. YSU also beat Akron (3-1) on June 1, 1968 for its first June win in school history. All-time, the Penguins are 2-4 in June.

YSU’s June Contests
June 4, 1964 vs. Southern Illinois • L, 5-11
June 5, 1964 vs. Mount Union • L, 1-9
June 2, 1966 vs. Union • L, 2-4
June 3, 1966 vs. Illinois State • L, 3-16
June 1, 1968 at Akron • W, 3-1
June 1, 1973 at Wooster • W, 12-10

Got it Done Playing Small Ball
    Youngstown State reached the title game of the Horizon League Championships without recording an extra-base hit. Instead, the team relied on 27 singles, six sacrifice bunts, a sac fly and two stolen bases.

Four Postseason Wins a First
    With four wins in the Horizon League Championship, the Penguins set a school mark for postseason victories. In their first two years at the Horizon League Tournament, YSU went 1-4, with the lone win coming against UW-Milwaukee in the first round last year.

Eastwood Magic Leads to Crown
    Home-field advantage had not been a big factor in the Horizon League Championship before the Penguins won the event. Prior to YSU’s title, Notre Dame was the last team to win the conference tournament at home in 1994, when it was the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament.

Pitchers Strut Stuff At Right Time
    The Penguins’ pitching staff was a key to the turnaround during the league tournament. In the regular-season, YSU had a 5.68 ERA while opponents hit .292. In the tournament, the staff had a 1.50 ERA while opponents hit just .172. Below a breakdown of the averages during the regular season and the postseason by the YSU staff.

Tournament Title Was A Long Shot
    Youngstown State went against the grain in every way possible at the Horizon League Tournament. In the previous 23 years, no team that had finished below fourth in the regular season had won the postseason title. In all the previous tournaments, no team that had finished with a below .500 conference record had won the postseason event. Also, only Northern Illinois had a below .500 overall record before getting hot to take the postseason crown in 1996.

Ford Belts First Homer In Three Years
    Clint Ford had to wait more than three years between home runs, but he picked the right time to go yard during the Horizon League Championship Game. Ford belted his first home since March 27, 2001 (at Ohio) in the fourth inning against Cleveland State during Sunday afternoon’s title game.

Svitak Stepped Up in Tourney
    Freshman Andy Svitak has continued to impress in his debut campaign as he has recorded a win and a save in two appearances in the tournament. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out four hitters in four innings of work.
    Being counted on to step in and pitch in key situations all season long, Svitak has emerged as the backbone of the bullpen. He has appeared in a team-high 19 games, posting four saves and 4-3 record.

Pitchers Make All-Tournament Team
    Sophomore hurlers Kevin Libeg and Eric Shaffer were named the Horizon League All-Tournament team joining teammate second baseman Justin Banks, the MVP.
    Libeg and Shaffer both had outstanding outings against Cleveland State. In the championship game, Libeg tossed 7.1 innings, struck out eight, walked none and scattered seven hits while allowing just one run. Shaffer tossed eight innings against the Vikings in the tournament’s second game, allowing just four hits and two runs -- both unearened.

Butler Comeback Best Of Year
    Trailing by three entering the top of the ninth to Butler, the Penguins struck for four runs and then hung on to earn the victory.
    The last time YSU trailed by three runs entering the ninth and came back to win was at Toledo on May 14, 2003. The Penguins trailed 6-3 in the ninth before scoring four times in the top of the inning to pull out a 7-6 come-from-behind win.

Let’s Get It Started
    Since the ninth-inning rally against Butler in the opening round of the tournament, the Penguins have been a different club. For the first eight innings of the game, YSU collected just three hits and had four runners reach second base and two reach third. Then in the ninth, YSU scored four runs in the come-from-behind victory. Youngstown State scored its final three runs with two outs, all after Kyle Penrod beat out a would-be game-ending double play ball. In their last 28 innings at the plate in the tournament, the Penguins scored 26 runs after not scoring for the first eight.

Double Figures in Hits And Runs
    YSU has scored in double figures five times and had double figures in hits on 20 occasions. The Penguins have won the last three games when scoring in double figures and are 12-8 when reaching the mark in hits. In the Horizon League Tournament, YSU had 10 hits against Cleveland State and UIC before rapping 14 hits in the title game against CSU.

Playing Their Best Ball Now
    The Penguins enter the NCAA Regional in Texas having won eight of their last 11 games. YSU’s turnaround came against Ohio on May 12 at Eastwood Field. Trailing 6-4 entering the ninth inning, YSU sent the game to extra innings plating two runs with two outs on a single by Kendall Schlabch. The Penguins went on to win the game 7-6 in 12 innings when Adam Cox singled home Jim Lipinski. That win also pushed YSU’s record in extra innings to 4-1.

Thomas Gives Penguins Chance
    When Justin Thomas takes the hill, the Penguins have won 69 percent of the time this season. In his 13 starts in 2004, the Penguins own a 9-4 record while Thomas himself owns a 7-2 mark.

Schlabach Four-Time Honoree
    Senior Kendall Schlabach became the first Penguin in school history to earn all-conference honors his four seasons on the squad. Schlabach was named second-team All-Horizon League in 2004 after hitting a team-best .316, scored 36 runs, posted 11 doubles and drew 29 walks during the year.
    As a junior, Schlabach was a second-team All-Horizon League pick, as a sophomore, he was first-team all-league selection and as a freshman he was a first-team All Mid-Continent Conference performer.

Thomas Named All-League As Well
    Justin Thomas was Youngstown State’s top starter in the regular season turning in a team-best six wins in 79.1 innings pitched and for his efforts was named second-team All-Horizon League.
    The southpaw picked up wins against conference foes Butler and Illinois-Chicago and posted a 3.32 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 38 innings against Horizon League opponents. He also defeated Missouri, Wofford, Central Michigan and IPFW.

Libeg Shining as a Sophomore
    Youngstown State sophomore pitcher Kevin Libeg has been a key part of the Penguin staff in his second season.
    After hurling 25.1 innings over 16 appearances as a reliever last season, Libeg has more than doubled his inning output as a sophomore with 62 innings pitched and has made nine starts owning a 5-3 mark.
    He started and earned the victory in the Horizon League Championship Game on Sunday against Cleveland State throwing 7.1 strong innings while striking out eight. It was his second-longest outing of the year.
    On March 21, he threw YSU’s first one-hitter since Matt Brumit one-hit Cleveland State on April 20, 2002, in a 1-0 loss to Austin Peay. Libeg did not walk a batter but fell victim to an unearned run.

Thomas Impressive as Sophomore
    In addition to being named Second-Team All-Horizon League, sophomore Justin Thomas has landed at or near the top five in YSU history in several seasonal categories.
    He ranks second in innings pitched with 87.1, fifth in victories with seven, is tied for second in games started with 13 and is fifth in strikeouts with 77.

Shaffer Turning The Heat Up
    Youngstown State sophomore Eric Shaffer got off to a rough start this season, but the lefty has taken his performance up a notch in the past month and a half.
    Since April 9, Shaffer has posted an ERA of 2.79 and has recorded 26 strikeouts in 38.2 innings. Also, in his last 20 innings on the hill, he has allowed only three earned runs. His eight innings against CSU on May 28 marked his longest outing of the year.

Penguins Shine in the Classroom
    Nineteen Youngstown State baseball student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 GPA during the spring semester.
    Those student-athletes are Brian Boone, Brandon Caipen, Erich Diedrich, Clint Ford, Matt Gnacinski, Kevin Libeg, Jim Lipinski, Sean Lucas, Josh Page, Brent Parks, Jim Phillips, Frank Santore, Charles Schultz, Jeff Solt, Andy Svitak, Justin Thomas, Mike Turjanica, Josh Wells and Paul Yates.
    The team also posted an 3.07 GPA during the spring semester, an impressive mark during the season.

Yates Saving His Way to the Top
    Senior Paul Yates’ five saves this season is the second-most recorded in a season in YSU history behind Marc Morgan’s mark of 10 in 1995. His 10 career saves also ranks second all-time behind Morgan’s 15.
    Yates also ranks second in school history with 70 career appearances behind Matt Nurczyk’s 79 from 1990-93. This season, he appeared in 18 contests, second highest on the squad.

Dennis’ Record Deceiving
    Although Chris Dennis owns a 1-7 record on the season, he leads the team with a 3.61 earned-run average. Eight of the 33 runs he has allowed have been unearned and the Penguin offense has averaged a mere 2.5 runs per game in his 10 starts.
    Against Cleveland State on April 10, he threw a seven-inning complete game dropping a 1-0 decision on an unearned run. Against UIC on May 15, he tossed a nine-inning complete game as the Penguins pulled out a 1-0 victory.

Schlabach Moving Up The Charts
    Outfielder Kendall Schlabach will conclude his career at some point during the NCAA postseason as one of the all-time greatest hitters in YSU baseball history.
    Entering the regionals, he currently holds the school record for hits (262), at bats (754), runs scored (160), and total bases (325).
    He also ranks in the top five in walks (second with 103), games played (second with 206), stolen bases (fourth with 53) and doubles (fourth with 42).

Lipinski Lighting It Up
    Senior first baseman Jim Lipinski has been on a major hot streak at the plate spanning over the last month and a half.
    After starting the season with 10 hits in his first 85 at bats (.117 BA), Lipinski has turned it on enough to take a .287 batting average into NCAA Regional play.
    Sitting out two games because an injury may have been the best thing that could have happened. After returning to the lineup on April 11 against Cleveland State, he hit .380 for the rest of the season. Since that time, he has 41 hits, 11 doubles, three homers, knocked in 23 runs, scored 15 runs, and has a .565 slugging percentage.

Cox All-Time Home Run Leader
    Catcher Adam Cox became the Penguins’ all-time career home run hitter on April 6 at West Liberty State. Cox has hit 26 in his career, including a season-best 11 as a junior. This year, he has seven home runs, tops on the team. He broke the record of 23, which was previously held by current assistant and first base coach Andy Clough.

Lipinski Named Player of the Week
    Senior Jim Lipinski had a huge series against Butler and was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on April 26.
    For that series, Lipinski hit at a .600 clip (9-for-15) with six RBIs, four runs scored and one home run in the four-game series with the Bulldogs. He recorded a slugging percentage of .933, had an on-base percentage of .625 while improving his average 54 points.

Thomas Named Pitcher of the Week
    Sophomore lefthander Justin Thomas started off the season on a good note when he was named the first Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on March 1.
    Thomas beat Big 12 foe Missouri 3-2 allowing only two hits in seven scoreless innings while striking out nine Tiger hitters.

Dennis Named Pitcher of the Week
    Junior Chris Dennis became the second Penguin pitcher to earn Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors this season as he earned the honor on May 17.
    Dennis threw a three-hit masterpiece in a 1-0 victory over Illinois-Chicago on May 15.
    He threw 155 pitches and retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced, including striking out the side in the ninth, for YSU’s first shutout of the season. The lefty also set career highs in innings pitched (nine) and strikeouts (13) in the contest.

Postseason Genes On the Mound
    Senior pitcher Frank Santore will be part of the first Division I NCAA Regional team joining his father Tom Santore, who was part of the first Division II NCAA Regional participant in 1964.

The Penguins Appeared in Three NCAA Division II Regionals
    The Penguins appeared in the NCAA Division II Regionals on three occasions in 1964, 1966 and 1977.
    In 1964, Youngstown lost games to Southern Illinois (11-5) and Mount Union (9-1) at the Mideast Regional in Jackson, Tenn.
    In 1966, Youngstown State played Union, Tenn., and Illinois State at the Mideast Regional in Springfield, Ohio. The Penguins lost the first game of the regional to Union 4-2 before falling to Illinois State 16-3.
    In 1977, the Penguins participated in the Great Lakes Regional at Edwardsville, Ill. In the first game, pitcher Dave Dravecky struggled against Wright State as the Raiders won 25-1. Against Northern Kentucky, YSU hung tough dropping a 4-3 decision.