March 20, 2009

Softball Hosts Loyola in Three-Game Series in Home and Horizon League Opener at McCune

    The Youngstown State softball team (2-14)returns to action to host Horizon League foe Loyola in a three-game series, March 21-22, at McCune Park. The series also marks the Penguins’ 2009 Horizon League and home opener.

    The Penguins and Ramblers square off in a doubleheader, Saturday, March 21, with first pitch schedule for 1 p.m. The two teams will close out the series with a single game on Sunday, March 22, at 11 a.m.

    After dropping nine straight games, the Penguins closed out the Rebel Spring Games with a 5-4 win over LaSalle. The Penguins also knocked off Saint Francis (Pa.), 7-3, on the first day (March 7) of the games.

    The games between YSU and Loyola mark the 16th, 17th and 18th meetings between the two schools. Loyola owns a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Loyola swept the season series from the Penguins, but the Guins won two of three games from the Ramblers the last time the schools played at McCune Park in 2007.

The Penguins played 12 games at the Rebel Spring Games over spring break and went 2-10 during the week. The Penguins fell three times by one run and twice by two runs. At the Rebel Spring Games, freshman Haley Thomas led the Penguins with a .351 batting average while classmate Jordan Ingalls batted .350. In the circle, junior Cheryl Cale went 1-5 with a save but finished with a 1.98 earned-run average. She allowed just 12 earned runs in 42.1 innings pitched.

The Youngstown State softball team is on the verge of picking up the program’s 500th victory since the school instituted fast-pitch softball in 1980. The Penguins, who have 494 all-time victories, need just six more victories to accomplish that feat.

Youngstown State Head Coach Brian Campbell picked up his first Division I win with a 7-3 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on March 7. Campbell earned his second win with a 5-4 win over LaSalle on March 13. Overall, Campbell has 287 career victories and needs just 13 more to reach 300.

Freshman Jordan Ingalls earned her first career victory in a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over LaSalle on March 13 at the Rebel Spring Games. Against the Explorers, Ingalls tossed seven innings, scattered 12 hits and struck out three.

Over her last eight appearances, junior Cheryl Cale has been steadily improving and keeping the Penguins in games. Although she is just 1-5 in her last six decisions, Cale posted an earned-run average of 1.98 with a save, 14 strikeouts and just 12 earned runs allowed in 42.1 innings pitched.

Loyola is currently 11-7 after 18 games played, including sweeping a doubleheader from Northern Illinois on Wednesday. Stevie Bradich leads the Ramblers with a .318 batting average and has stolen 11 of 13 bases this season. Haley Ambrosch and Ellen Kresl are both batting .302. Senior Krista Crosson leads the Ramblers with a 6-2 record in the circle and a 1.34 earned-run average. Crosson also has 55 strikeouts and just 21 walks in 57.2 innings pitched. Amy Solava carries a record of 4-5 with a 2.35 earned-run average.

Youngstown State continues its five-game homestand when it hosts Morehead State, Wednesday, March 25, in a non-league doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at McCune Park. The Penguins then visit Canisius for a non-league road doubleheader on Thursday, March 26, at 3 p.m. The Guins return to Horizon League action with a three-game series at Wright State, March 28-29, in Dayton, Ohio.

Freshman outfield Haley Thomas’ batting average skyrocketed after an impressive 12 games at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Simi Valley, Calif., native improved to batting average 151 points after hitting .351 (13-for-37) in Florida. Thomas ranks tied for second on the team with a .294 batting average, up from .143 after the first four game of the season.

Not only did freshman Jordan Ingalls pick up her first career victory at the Rebel Spring Games, the Bolivar, N.Y., native swung the bat quite well, too. Ingalls went 14-for-40 (.350) with three doubles and two runs batted in at the Rebel Games. Ingalls leads the Penguins with a .358 batting average, with four doubles and a home run.

Senior Allyse Ledford has had a penchant for getting on base this season. Ledford leads the team with a .451 on-base percentage. She has walked 16 times in the first 16 games for a one walk per game average. At the Rebel Games, Ledford walked 15 times and was hit by a pitch in 12 games, and posted a .475 on-base percentage. Ledford also needs just 13 more walks to tie the YSU single-season record of 29 bases-on-balls set by Adele Cohan in 1993.

Sophomore infielder Kim Klonowski closed out the Rebel Spring Games on a high note. Over the last five games, Klonowski batted .375 (6-for-16) with a double and three runs batted in. Klonowski collected two hits against both IPFW (March 11) and Yale (March 12).

Sophomore newcomer Ashley Conger, who joined the Penguins in January, turned in a career day at the plate in YSU’s 5-4 win over LaSalle on March 13. Conger went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and tallied the game-tying hit - a two-run single to center field - in top of the seventh. The Guins went on to score the game-winner in the top of the eighth inning.