Softball Seeks 10th Straight Win at Niagara, Visits Detroit Mercy

Posted: Apr 01, 2019

Youngstown State Softball at Niagara, at Detroit Mercy
Wed. - 3 p.m. ET	at Niagara \| Live Stats
Wed. - 5 p.m. ET	at Niagara \| Live Stats
Fri. - 4 p.m. ET	at Detroit Mercy \| ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Sat. - 12 p.m. ET	at Detroit Mercy \| Live Stats
Sat. 2 p.m. ET	at Detroit Mercy \| Live Stats
Live Tweets	@YSUSoftball
Mobile App	YSU Front Row

First Pitch
The Youngstown State softball team attempts to tie a school record with its 10th straight win when it visits Niagara in a doubleheader, Wednesday, April 3, at 3 p.m. The Penguins also return to Horizon League action, April 5-6, with a three-game series at Detroit Mercy.

Penguins Streakin'
The Penguins' nine-game winning streak is tied for the second longest streak in school history and is just the fifth time YSU has won at least nine straight games. It also marks the third straight season the Penguins have had a streak of nine consecutive wins. The program record of 10 was set in 2004.

Up Next
The Penguins visit Robert Morris in a doubleheader, Wednesday, April 10, at 3 p.m. before returning home to host Cleveland State in a three-game Horizon League series, April 12-13.

About Niagara
The Purple Eagles enter the game with an overall record of 2-17. Leading Niagara is Maggie Vesneske wiht a .279 batting average.

About Detroit Mercy
The Titans enter the week with an overall mark of 13-20 and a 5-4 record in Horizon League play. Leading Detroit Mercy is Jordan Manno with a .340 batting average. Ashley Mauser leads the Titans with a 7-8 record, a 2.68 earned-run average and 124 strikeouts, which lead the Horizon League.

Jarvis Among Horizon League Leaders
Freshman Addy Jarvis is marking her mark as one of the top pitchers in the Horizon League. She leads the league with eight wins and four shutouts and ranks second with a earned-run average of 2.60 and 116 strikeouts.

See Ya, Cea
Freshman Grace Cea has been instrumental in the Penguins nine-game winning streak. Over that span, Cea batted .333 with 10 runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs. Cea had a slugging percentage of .700 over the last nine games.

Birkbeck Bashing
Junior Elizabeth Birkbeck has been one of YSU's main run producers over the last nine games. She batted .375, drove in 10 runs and scored four more. She also slugged at a .708 clip and had an on-base percentage of .500.

Dazzlin' Yaz
Sophomore Yazmine Romero has been a integral part of the Penguins success. Over the last nine games, Romero batted a team-best .387 and has scored five runs. Overall, Romero has reached base 42 percent of the time when leading off an inning.

Jarvis, Lusk Sweep Horizon League Weekly Softball Awards
After leading the Penguins to a 5-0 week last week, Youngstown State junior Maddi Lusk (Johnstown, Ohio) and freshman Addy Jarvis (Vienna, Ohio) were named the Horizon League Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, the league announced on Monday. This is the second career weekly award for both Lusk and Jarvis.

Lusk led the Penguins to a 5-0 week and extended their winning streak to nine games. Last week, Lusk batted .471 going to 8-for-17 with four runs, a double, three home runs and five runs batted in. She also had a 1.059 slugging percentage. She had three multi-hit games as well. Lusk went 2-for-3 with a double in a 1-0 win over St. Bonaventure and followed with a 2-for-3 performance that included a three-run home run in a 4-2 win over the Bonnies. Against IUPUI, Lusk went 3-for-4 with two home runs and two RBIs to lead the Penguins to a 6-3 win. Lusk also picked up a save against St. Bonaventure tossing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Jarvis went 3-0 last week with three complete games and a 1.33 earned-run average and 30 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. She fired a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Akron on March 26. Jarvis had 10 strikeouts in a three-hit shutout over St. Bonaventure on March 27. She also struck out nine in a complete-game win over IUPUI on March 29. She allowed just two walks and limited her opponents to a .125 batting average.

Saibene Ties RBI Mark

Sophomore Nikki Saibene became just the second player in school history to drive in seven runs in a game when she hit a three-run home run and a grand slam against Oakland on March 24. Saibene is also the 18th player in school history to hit a grand slam. The last player to hit two home runs in a game was Saibene in 2018 against Green Bay at the Covelli Sports Complex.

Geanangel, Buffenbarger Moving Up Ks Chart

Senior Paige Geanangel and sophomore Elle Buffenbarger are both moving up the YSU career strikeout list. Buffenbarger now ranks eighth all-time with 199 strikeouts and Geanangel is ninth with 196. The last sophomore pitcher to accumulate 200 career strikeouts was Casey Crozier, who had 224 through two full seasons.

Penguins Picked Second

The Youngstown State softball team has been predicted to finish second in the Horizon League after a vote of the league's head coaches, the league announced. UIC was picked to win the 2019 Horizon League regular-season championship with all nine first-place votes and 81 total points followed by the Penguins with 69 points. Checking in at third place in the poll is last year's tournament runner-up Oakland (63 points). In fourth position in the poll is Wright State (44 points). Northern Kentucky (40 points) and IUPUI (39 points) were chosen fifth and sixth respectively in the poll. Rounding out the 2019 Preseason Poll are Detroit Mercy (36 points), Green Bay (22 points), and Cleveland State (11 points).