Baseball Returns Home to Host Purdue Fort Wayne

On May 5, 2021

Weekend Preview

The Youngstown State baseball team (23-20, 18-14 Horizon League) will return home to host a four-game Horizon League series against Purdue Fort Wayne (9-25, 6-18 Horizon League) at Eastwood Field this weekend beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. The Penguins and Mastodons will proceed to play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Game one of Saturday’s doubleheader is slated for seven innings while the remaining three games are scheduled for nine innings.
Live audio for all four games this weekend will be available at YSNLive.com. Live stats for all four games will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
Senior left-hander Colin Clark will start the series opener on Friday while senior southpaw Collin Floyd start game one on Saturday. Junior right-hander Jon Snyder will start game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, and freshman right-hander Nick Perez will take the ball for the series finale on Sunday.
Youngstown State has won 18 of its last 27 contests after a winning one of four games this past weekend at UIC. The Penguins won the opener 1-0 on Friday before dropping the final three games of the series. YSU had its six-game winning streak snapped with a 3-1 loss in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday. The Penguins put together their first six-game winning streak since 2005. YSU has also reached 23 wins for the first time since 2008.
With its 12-6 victory over Oakland in game two of a doubleheader on April 23, Youngstown State reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2010. With their 18-6 win in the series finale on Sunday, the Penguins set a new program record with their 17th Horizon League victory. The previous record of 16 Horizon League wins was set in 2006.
Senior left-hander Colin Clark was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after tossing eight shutout innings in YSU’s 1-0 win at UIC on Friday. Clark scattered four hits and struck out eight batters over a season-high eight scoreless innings. The Penguins have now had a player earn weekly league recognition in eight of the first 11 weeks of the 2021 campaign. YSU’s eight weekly awards are the most in the league this season. The Penguins also lead the league with five Pitcher-of-the-Week selections.
YSU is 13-2 at Eastwood Field this season to reach 13 home wins for the first time since 2008. The Guins have won their last six games at Eastwood Field.

Quick Notes

YSU has reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2010. The Penguins have set a new program record with 18 Horizon League wins.
Youngstown State leads the Horizon League and ranks 18th nationally with 64 stolen bases in 85 attempts. The Penguins have swiped at least two bases in 19 different games this season.
YSU leads the Horizon League in hits and triples while ranking second in batting average, runs scored, doubles, home runs, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage.
Senior infielder Jeff Wehler leads the Horizon League and ranks 12th nationally with 21 stolen bases. He also leads the Horizon League with 56 hits. He ranks in the top 10 of the league in runs scored, RBIs, slugging, home runs, doubles and triples.
Senior left-hander Collin Floyd became YSU’s all-time strikeout leader on April 2 with the 266th strikeout of his career. Aaron Swenson’s previous record of 265 had stood since 2010. Floyd’s 299 career strikeouts rank second among all active Division I players. He has recorded at least six strikeouts in nine of his 11 starts this season.
Floyd became YSU’s all-time leader in games started on April 9 with the 50th start of his career. He surpassed Blake Aquadro’s previous mark of 49 which had stood since 2013. Floyd’s 53 career starts rank second among all active Division I players.
Floyd leads the Horizon League with six wins and 84 strikeouts. He also ranks second in the league with a .196 opponent average and 76.1 innings pitched. Floyd’s 84 strikeouts also rank 19th nationally. In league play, Floyd leads the circuit with 62 strikeouts and a 1.44 ERA. He ranks second in league play with a .174 opponent average.

Youngstown State vs. Purdue Fort Wayne

A Win on Friday Would…

Give YSU 19 wins in its last 28 games.
Snap a three-game losing streak.
Improve YSU’s record at Eastwood Field to 14-2.
Give the Penguins 14 home wins for the first time since 2003.
Give YSU seven straight wins at Eastwood Field.
Improve YSU’s Horizon League record to 19-14.
Give YSU 24 wins for the first time since 2006.
Be the 306th in head coach Dan Bertolini’s career and his 76th at Youngstown State.

Scouting The Mastodons

Purdue Fort Wayne enters the weekend with a 9-25 overall record and a 6-18 mark in Horizon League play. The Mastodons have dropped 11 straight games after being swept by Wright State in a four-game series in Fort Wayne this past weekend.
Purdue Fort Wayne was picked fifth in the Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll. The Mastodons are in their first season as a member of the Horizon League. The ‘Dons went 5-10 during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Sophomore infielder Zac Baden is batting .316 while junior infielder Aaron Chapman has a team-high 18 RBIs. Senior outfielder Garett Lake leads the team with four home runs and 47 total bases. Senior infielder Jack Lang ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a team-high 12 stolen bases.
Sophomore left-hander Jacob Myer has a 3-5 record, a 5.04 ERA and 45 strikeouts over a team-high 55.1 innings pitched. Junior left-hander Justin Miller has a team-high 53 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched over 10 appearances and nine starts. Miller ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a .224 opponent batting average.

Series History

Overall: Youngstown State leads 7-3
Bertolini: 3-1 // Home: 0-0 // Away: 7-3
Current Win Streak: 1 by Youngstown State
YSU won three of four games against Purdue Fort Wayne earlier this season at Defiance High School in Defiance, Ohio. The series marked the first meeting between the teams since 2005.
The Penguins took the series opener 6-3 before winning game two 3-0. After a 1-0 loss in game one of a doubleheader on March 7, YSU bounced back to earn a 13-8 win in the series finale.
First meeting: April 17, 2004 (W 6-1)

Recapping UIC

Game 1 – Friday, April 30 // W 1-0

Senior left-hander Colin Clark tossed eight shutout innings to lead Youngstown State to a 1-0 win over UIC on Friday at Curtis Granderson Stadium.
Clark scattered four hits and struck out eight batters over a season-high eight scoreless innings to earn his fourth victory of the season. The Circleville, Ohio, native retired the side in order in the first, seventh and eighth innings. He recorded a strikeout in five different innings, and he had multiple punch outs in two different frames. Clark struck out the side in the third inning, and he did not allow a baserunner to reach second base until the sixth. The senior retired each of the final seven batters he faced.
The Penguins scored the lone run of the game in the top of the second inning when Turner Grau hit a one-out single, reached second on a fielder’s choice and scored on a two-out RBI double to left field by Steven D’Eusanio.

Game 2 – Saturday, May 1 // L 3-1 (7 innings)

UIC starter Chris Torres allowed one run on four hits over 5.1 innings to lead the Flames to a 3-1 victory over Youngstown State in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday at Curtis Granderson Stadium.
The Flames took an early 2-0 lead with two runs in the bottom of the second inning before the Penguins cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the sixth. UIC scored once in the home half of the sixth to produce the final margin.
YSU starter Collin Floyd allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out five batters over 5.2 innings of work. He retired the side in order in the fifth inning and had a strikeout in three different frames.
Jeff Wehler produced YSU’s lone run with an RBI double while Phillip Glasser, Blaze Glenn and Lucas Nasonti also had hits for the Penguins. UIC outhit YSU 8-4 in the seven-inning affair.

Game 3 – Saturday, May 1 // L 8-7

UIC scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase a 7-1 deficit and earn an 8-7 victory over YSU in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.
The Penguins built a 5-0 advantage before UIC got one run on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. After YSU pushed its lead to 7-1 with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, UIC exploded for seven runs on five hits including four home runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Penguins hit three home runs in the contest but were outhit by the Flames 10-8. Wehler set a new career high with four hits including two doubles and a home run. He also recorded two RBIs, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Dominick Bucko went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and four RBIs while Turner Grau added a solo blast.

Game 4 – Sunday, May 2 // L 18-7

UIC scored eight…