Penguin Hardball Rallies to Earn First Win of the Season -- Wednesday, March 14 2007
Huntington, W.Va. -- Youngstown State scored the final four runs of the game and got a solid effort from the bullpen in a 5-3 victory over Marshall on Tuesday afternoon at University Heights Field.
The Penguins overcame a 3-1 deficit with three runs in the sixth and one more in the ninth to get their first win of the season. Marshall, which had won seven of its last eight games and all seven of its home games, dropped to 9-4.
Aaron Swenson and Andy Svitak combined to throw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief of starter Lucas Engle. Engle allowed three runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings to earn the win while Svitak earned his first save.
Lou Gattozzi went 2-for-3 while Anthony Munoz had two RBIs and Cory Hornyak scored twice.
Josh Valle had three hits and Mason Chapman had two for Marshall. Ryan Kiel allowed four runs on seven hits in a losing effort.
Trailing 3-1 through five innings, the Penguins scored three runs on three hits and an error to go up 4-3. Erich Diedrich and Gattozzi hit back-to-back one-out singles up the middle and scored when Nick Damas misplayed Tom Clayton's single to right. Eric Marzec then brought in Clayton on a ground out to second.
Marshall got the tying run on third in the eighth after back-to-back two-out singles off of Swenson, but Svitak came in to induce a fly ball to end the inning.
Munoz singled in Hornyak in the ninth for the final tally.
Marshall got a run across in the second on a hit and two errors and upped its advantage to 2-0 in the third.
The Penguins got on the board in the fifth thanks to a leadoff double and two sacrifices from three freshmen. Cory Hornyak doubled to left to start the inning and advanced on Dustin Wachter's sacrifice bunt. Anthony Munoz then hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Hornyak.
Marshall got the run back in the bottom of the inning as Jeff Rowley hit a two-out double, advanced on wild pitch and scored on Brandon Casamassima's single.
The Penguins and Thundering Herd will conclude their series tomorrow at 1 p.m. Links to live stats and live audio will be available on YSUsports.com

Men's Tennis Shuts Out Fairfield, Win Third Straight Spring Match -- Wednesday, March 14 2007
Sanford, Fl. -- The Youngstown State men's tennis team picked up its third win of the spring break trip and second straight shut out on Tuesday afternoon against Fairfield University at the Red Bug Lake Park. The Penguins will play the fourth and final match of the trip tomorrow against Stetson before returning home to play Robert Morris on Sunday.
Head Coach Eric Ronan was impressed how well the team played against Fairfield.

"This was the first Division I school that our team was matched up against on our trip," said Ronan. "I'm very proud at the level of intensity that the guys are playing and the success that they are having at doubles."
The team has swept the doubles competition in the last six matches.
In singles action, No 1. Scott Kathary edged John Fernando 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the third set tie-breaker. No 2. Tom Barth beat Ryan Berthod, 6-4, 6-2. No 3. Diego Cerzosimo downed Zach Morrison, 6-4, 3-6 (3). At the No. 4. spot Brian Meek defeated Chris Palumbo, 2-6, 6-4 (7) and No 5. Ryan Trapp knocked off. Balazs Szikla, 6-2, 6-4. No. 6 Jason Trapp wrapped up the singles competition with his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Glenn Gannon.
At doubles, No. 1 Barth teamed with Kathary to defeat Fernando and Palumbo, 8-6. No 2. Trapp and Trapp stoped Morrison and Gannon, 8-4 while Meek and Cerzosimo beat Chris Bane and Berthod, 8-3

Mizzou picks up a pair of 11-0 wins over Youngstown State -- Sunday, March 4 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo.-- - The Mizzou baseball team picked up a pair of 11-0 wins in Sunday's doubleheader with Youngstown State, completing its second series sweep of the season. The doubleheader sweep is the first for the Tigers since they took two from Louisiana-Monore on Feb. 17, 2006.

With a run-rule in effect, the Tigers defeated the Penguins in eight innings in game one, before completing the sweep with a seven inning win in the second game.

Sophomore Aaron Crow struck out six and allowed six hits in seven scoreless innings on the mound in game one to move to 2-0 on the year.

Freshman Kyle Gibson picked up his first victory as a Tiger, as he did not allow a run on just one hit in four innings pitched in the second game. Redshirt freshman Andrew Mueller, sophomore Ryan Gargano and sophomore Ian Berger each pitched an inning of relief, allowing just three walks and no hits.

The lone hit for YSU (0-6) in the second game was a leadoff single to open the fourth inning.

Sophomore Ryan Lollis and junior Evan Frey each had a pair of hits in game one and four Tigers drove in at least two runs, including Lollis who had three RBI.

In game two, sophomore Kyle Mach drove in two runs, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run in the second inning. Senior John McKee and freshman Trevor Coleman each drove in three runs in the game two win.

Mizzou (9-5) will continue its homestand with two games with Louisiana-Monroe this week. The teams will face off at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Taylor Stadium.

Late Rally Comes Up Short in 10-5 Loss at Missouri -- Saturday, March 3 2007
Columbia, Mo. -- Youngstown State scored four runs in the seventh to get within two, but Missouri scored the final three runs of the game in a 10-5 victory over the Penguins on Friday evening at Taylor Stadium.
Freshman Eric Marzec doubled twice, including a leadoff two-bagger in the seventh. Lou Gattozzi also finished with two hits while Erich Diedrich hit his first homer of the season.
John McKee drove in five runs on three hits to lead Missouri, which improved to 7-5.
Gattozzi got YSU on the board in the first when he brought home John Koehnlein on a two-out single, but Missouri answered with a run in the bottom of the inning and four in the second to go up 5-1.
The Tigers tallied runs in the third and fourth to go up six before YSU's four-run rally cut the margin to two. Marzec's leadoff double set up Diedrich's two-run homer, and Anthony Munoz and Dustin Wachter each brought home runs.
Missouri got a run in the seventh on a two-out RBI triple and two more in the eighth on a two-run double.
Chuck Schiffhauer surrendered seven runs on seven hits in five innings of work to be charged with the loss. Rick Zagone gave up five runs, three of which were earned, on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The Penguins and Tigers will square off again tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Penguins' Season Ends With 72-55 Loss -- Saturday, March 3 2007
Fairborn, Ohio -- UW-Green Bay scored the first five points of the second half as part of an 11-1 run and held off Youngstown State as the Penguins' fell 72-55 in the quarterfinals off the Horizon League Championship Friday evening at the Nutter Center.
The loss ended YSU's season at a mark of 14-17 while the Phoenix advances to play Wright State tomorrow evening in the semifinals.
Keston Roberts scored 18 points to lead YSU while Quin Humphrey battled through a cold to score 12 points.
Ryan Tillema scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting while Ryan Evanachko scored 17 points and had eight assists for UWGB.
The Phoenix took a 14-point lead on a Tillema trey at the 18:51 mark to start the second half, but YSU got within 10 three times before before cutting the margin to eight with 12:29 to go. UW-Green Bay upped the advantage back to 10 on its next possession as part of a 7-0 run with 9:34 remaining. The Penguins got within 10 just once more the rest of the contest.
YSU was held to 32.8 percent from the floor and 1-for-17 from behind the arc. UWGB shot 40 percent overall and outrebounded YSU 43-36.

Humphrey scored the game's first bucket before UW-Green Bay went on a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead with 16:30 remaining. YSU tied the score at nine and reclaimed the lead on a John Barber jumper at the 13-minute mark. The Penguins led 15-14 before the Phoenix went on a 9-2 to take a 23-17 lead on fast break dunk from Tillema.
YSU got within 26-23 before UWGB scored seven straight points to take a 10-point lead. A Humphrey free throw made the margin nine at the break.
The Penguins were held to 32.3 percent overall and 11.1 percent from behind the arc while The Phoenix shot 50 percent. Humphrey had 10 in the first half to lead YSU while Tillema had 10 on 4-for-4 shooting.
The loss concluded the Penguins' most successful year since joining the Horizon League. YSU tallied seven league wins, and had its most total victories since the 2000-01 season.
Humphrey finished his career with 1,707 points to finish eighth on YSU's all-time scoring list.

Roberts' Career Night Leads YSU to Opening Round Victory, 82-80 -- Thursday, March 1 2007
Youngstown -- Senior Keston Roberts scored 20 of his career-high 31 points in the first half and hit a clutch bucket inside the final minute as Youngstown State held off Detroit 82-80 in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament.
Roberts' sizzling first half helped the Penguins build a 19-point first half lead before Detroit worked its way back and took the lead 65-64 with seven minutes remaining.
Quin Humphrey hit a trey on YSU's next possession, and the Penguins held the lead until Brandon Bell tied it at 77 with 1:04 to go. Roberts' jumper with 47 seconds remaining gave YSU a two-point advantage, and Jack Liles blocked Ryvon Covile's potential-tying shot with six seconds remaining.
John Barber hit two free throws with after being fouled on the rebound to extend the lead to four with six seconds left, but Jon Goode hit a 3-pointer to make the score 81-80 with two seconds remaining.
Humphrey hit the first of two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining, and Bell's desperation shot from three-quarters court glanced off the side of the rim.
With the win, the Penguins improved to 14-16 on the year and will advance to play UW-Green Bay on Friday at 8 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio. UW-Green Bay defeated Cleveland State, 78-59, on Tuesday evening at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. Detroit finished the season at 11-19.
"I thought it was a tremendous college basketball game tonight with two teams giving everything they had," YSU coach Jerry Slocum said.
"Our two seniors did a tremendous job tonight. Keston was as good in the first half as any basketball player you're ever going to see play a basketball game. 'Q' stepped up and made some big shots in the second half."
Detroit guard Brandon Cotton finished with a game-high 33 points, including scoring 16 in the first nine minutes of the second half to lead the rally.
Humphrey finished with 19 points, Liles chipped in with 13, and Byron Davis had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Penguins. Goode finished with 11 and Chris Hayes had 10 for the Titans.
Roberts was 8-of-12 shooting from the field in the first half, including four 3-pointers, as YSU shot a sizzling 59.3 percent from the field and converted 8-of-11 or 72.7 percent from the 3-point line.

The Penguins made their first five field-goal attempts, six of their first seven and nine of their first 12 from the field.

Roberts scored the first 10 points of the game and 12 of YSU's first 14 as the Penguins jumped out to a 12-point lead, 14-2, at the 15:25 mark of the first half.

After the Titans cut the Penguins advantage to 10, 18-8, Humphrey drilled a 3-pointer to put the Penguins ahead 13, 21-8, with 10:57 left.

The Penguins twice led by as many as 19 points, 40-21, at the 4:04 mark and 45-29 with 1:07 remaining before the intermission.

Cotton hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to cut the Penguins lead to 14, 45-31, at the half.

Detroit shot 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the 3-point line in the first half.

Humphrey Garners Second Straight First-Team All-League Honor -- Monday, February 26 2007
Indianapolis, Ind. -- For the second straight campaign, guard Quin Humphrey has been selected to the Horizon League men's basketball first team, the conference announced on Monday. He becomes the first player in school history to be a first-team two-time all-conference performer.

Humphrey, a first-team pick in 2005-06, is the first Penguin since Anthony Hunt to earn all-conference honors in consecutive years. Hunt was a two-time Mid-Continent All-Conference selection in 1996-97 (second team) and 1997-98 (first team).

This year, he averaged 19.7 points in Horizon League play finishing with a league-best total of 315 points. He grabbed eight rebounds per game -- a total of 128. In league play he scored 37 at home against UIC, 36 at home versus Detroit and 35 at Beeghly against Wright State.

For the entire year he is averaging 19.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He has scored 553 points while grabbing 209 points. He has converted 60 3-pointers and is shooting 79.2 percent from the free-throw line (133-of-168) and 44.0 percent from the field (180-of-409).

Joining Humphrey on the first team was Butler guard A.J. Graves, Wright State guard DaShaun Wood, Loyola guard Blake Schilb and UIC guard Othyus Jeffers.

Wood was named the league's Player of the Year, Butler guard Mike Green was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year and Butler's Todd Lickliter was named the Coach of the Year.

Guins Set to Host Detroit; Humphrey Secures League-Game Scoring Title -- Monday, February 26 2007
The Youngstown State men's basketball team will play host to Detroit in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night. Tipoff at the Beeghly Center is set for 7:05 p.m.

The game will be carried live on Sirius Satellite Radio and live video will be streamed as part of the Horizon League Network on horizonleague.org.

The Penguins (13-16), who finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league with UW-Green Bay and UIC, posted their highest finish in the conference since joining the league five years ago. The previous best was a tie for sixth in 2002-03. Detroit enters the game with a 11-18 overall record.

The Guins and Titans split their regular-season meetings. YSU won 82-70 at the Beeghly Center on Feb. 14 while Detroit won 66-51 on Jan. 6 at Calihan Hall.

YSU improved five spots from last year when it finished ninth. The seven wins in conference play are a school best as well. In the preseason league race, the Guins were predicted to finish eighth.

It marks the first home postseason game for the Guins since March 1995 when they were part of the Mid-Continent Conference. In Horizon League first-round games, Youngstown State is 1-3 all-time with a win at UW-Green Bay in 2003. The Guins other appearance was a loss to the Phoenix in the opening round game of the 2002 event.

The other first-round matches are No. 4 seed UW-Green Bay playing host to No. 9 Cleveland State and No. 6 seed UIC entertaining No. 7 UW-Milwaukee.

The winner of Tuesday's YSU-Detroit game plays the winner of the UW-Green Bay-Cleveland State on Friday night at 8 p.m. at the Nutter Center in Dayton.

Despite just scoring eight points against Cleveland State on Saturday, senior guard Quin Humphrey took home the League-Game Scoring title finishing just ahead of Wright State's DaShaun Wood.

Humphrey scored 315 points in 16 league games, an average of 19.7 a contests. Wood tallied 313 for an average of 19.6 a game to come up just short.

Humphrey is the first individual since Loyola's Keith Gailes to lead the conference in scoring back-to-back campaigns. Gailes accomplished the feat in 1989-90 and 1990-91. The only other player to lead the league in scoring consecutively was the Ramblers' Alfredrick Hughes, who led for three straight seasons (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84).
Also, Humphrey was third in rebounds (8.0 per game), fourth in 3-pointers made (37) and fifth in steals (1.25 per game).
Sophomore forward Jack Liles was fourth in rebounding (7.2 per contest) and blocked shots (1.19 per game). Junior guard Byron Davis was second in assist/turnover ration (2.03 per game) and fourth in assists (4.07 a game).
As a team, YSU posted a league-high 36.6 rebounds per game while finishing third in rebound margin (plus-2.1). The Guins were fourth in blocked shots (3.13 a game), fourth in 3-pointer field-goal percentage (34.3 percent) and fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage (35.3 percent).

On Monday, a special edition of the Penguin Playbook Radio Show will be carried on 570 WKBN AM. The hour-long show featuring Coaches Jerry Slocum and Tisha Hill will begin at 7 p.m.

A Penguins Gameday Television Show will also be carried in the area. The CW, WBCB, will air the special show on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. Sports Director Dana Balash will be joined by Coach Slocum and Coach Hill to preview the upcoming tournament game and discuss the final week of the women's regular season.

YSU's Athletic Ticket Office in Stambaugh Stadium will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday. Reserved chairback tickets are $12, general admission tickets are $10 and student tickets are $5. No discounts are offered for postseason events.

Three Penguins Earn Individual Honors as Track Squads Finish Second at League Meet -- Monday, February 26 2007
Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Bethany Anderson and Joe Lahmon won Outstanding Field Performer honors while freshman Alisha Anthony was named the Field Newcomer at the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend.

Anderson won the shot put for the third time in her career and swept the throwing events for the second straight year while Lahmon won the weight throw for his first career title. Anthony won the long jump, finished third in the 200-meter dash and placed sixth in the triple jump.
The women's squad finished 18 points behind UW-Milwaukee's winning score of 170 but was 69 points ahead of Butler for second. YSU edged Butler 96-94 to finish second on the men's side behind UW-Milwaukee's 175 points.
Anderson won the shot put by less than an inch with a mark of 43'2.5" on Sunday after posting a first-place mark of 56'1" in the weight throw on Saturday. She was one of three YSU throwers who scored in the shot put and one of four in the weight throw. Lindsey Hill finished third in the shot put (41'10.75") while Jacquline Clonch was fifth in the shot put (40'6.75"). Alexis Hall finished second in the weight throw (50'5.25"), Amy Hill was third (50'4") and Lindsay Cobey was fifth (48'10.25").
Anthony's winning mark in the long jump was the fourth-best winning leap in league history (19'1.50"), and Yandeh Joh won the 60m hurdles (9.05) to keep YSU undefeated in the event since joining the Horizon League in the 2001-02 season. Kari Kreutzfeld added a victory in the 400m with a time of 58.89.
Joh also finished second in the pentathlon while Jen Grayson was third and Robyn Ray was fourth. Grayson added a second-place finishes in the high jump (5'3.25") and the 60m hurdles (9.7). Ashley Oliver finished third in the 60m (7.89) and fifth in the 200m (26.06) while Anthony ran a time of 25.95 in the 200m to finish third. Shantel Jackson was third (2:21.23) and Jennifer Roman was fifth in the 800m (2:23.41), Marielle Glanz was fourth in the mile (5:22.49) and Emily Wollet was sixth in the 400m(1:01.65). Ray added a sixth-place finish in the high jump (4'11.5") to go along with Anthony's sixth-place triple jump mark of 36'8.25".
On the men's side Eric Baltputnis finished second in the 60m (7.11) to lead the sprints while Scott Streiner placed fourth in the 200m (22.52) and fifth in the 400m (50.35). Adam Kagarise was fourth in the 400m (50.19), and Da'Michael Horne added a sixth-place finish in the 60m (7.19).
Harold Jones finished second by less than a second in the 800m (1:57.55), and J.D. Sheppard finished fourth in the 1,000m (2:34.83). Nick Kruse was third in the mile (4:21.41) and sixth in the 3,000m (8:54.14).
Lahmon posted a winning mark of 60'6" in the weight throw while Dom DeFelippo was third (56'6") and Drew Weizer was sixth (53'0.25"). Aaron Merrill was second in the shot put (53-11.75") and Lahmon was fifth (50'7.5").
Clarence Howell finished third in the long jump (21'11"), Shayne York was third in the triple jump (44'6.25") and Michael Perri was fifth in the high jump (6'1.5"). Marty Vieth added a fourth-place effort in the heptathlon.

Strong Finish Lifts YSU to Highest Ever Finish in League Meet -- Monday, February 26 2007
Chicago -- Five Youngstown State swimmers scored in the 1,650-yard freestyle and three more scored in the 100 free to vault the Penguins into a fifth-place finish at the Horizon League Championships.

YSU entered the day tied for fifth with Cleveland State but outscored the Vikings 86-52 in the final day to earn its best-ever finish at the league meet.

Olivia Arnold finished ninth in the 1,650 while Natasha Bray, Erin-Michelle Gordon, Leah Krout and Hilary Barrett also placed in the top 16. Megan Rupe moved into second-place on YSU's all-time list in the 100 free with an eighth-place time of 53.38, and Becky Bertuzzi swam the top time in the consolation final of 53.31. Brittany Senn added a 15th-place time of 54.66.
Bertuzzi added a personal-best time of 2:13.44 to finish 10th in the 200 fly, and Julia Darling posted a 14th-place time of 2:33.01 in the 200 breast. Bertuzzi also teamed up with Rupe, Senn and Jessica Front to finish fifth in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:36.08, which was the second-fastest in YSU history.
The final day capped an all-around impressive effort for the Penguins during the championship week.

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Brittany Senn, Megan Rupe, Leigh Bareman and Jessica Front set the school record in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.51. The previous record had stood since March 1, 1986.
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Senior Becky Bertuzzi broke a 24-year-old school record in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.11. Bertuzzi also posted career-best times in the 100 free and 200 fly that rank her as the third-fastest in school history in each event.
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Freshman Megan Rupe posted personal-best times in the 50 and 100 free to move into the top five all-time in both events.
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Natasha Bray, Erin-Michelle Gordon, Leah Krout and Hilary Barrett all swam personal-best times in the 1,650 free and all rank in the top eight in school history.
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Freshman Jennifer Johnstone became the third-fastest 100 breast swimmer in school history with her 15th-place time of 1:09.93.
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Natasha Bray and Lara Munro swam personal-best times in the 400 IM that rank in the top 10 all-time.
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Senior diver Cortney Harless finished 12th in the 1-metter and 13th in the 3-meter, which were both the highest in her career.
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21 new entries were made to YSU's all-time list and swimmers posted 23 personal-best times.