Archive for the ‘YSU Baseball And Softball’ Category

 

 The Youngstown State baseball program will hold the inaugural “First Pitch” Breakfast at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Banquet Hall in Youngstown on Feb. 12.  Keep in mind that the baseball program does not generate much revenue at the gate like football or basketball do, so these types of activities are paramount to the baseball and softball teams.

The fund-raising event will provide fans to meet the 2011 Penguins, as well as win great prizes through a Chinese Auction.

Doors for the event will open at 8:30 a.m., and the breakfast will begin at 8:45 a.m. The program will start at 9:30 a.m. The donation of $15 includes a breakfast buffet and a game ticket for any 2011 YSU baseball game.

Chinese Auction items include YSU baseball attire, gift baskets from Belleria Pizza and Italian Restaurant and the Mahoning Valley Restaurant (MVR), autographed YSU baseball memorabilia and the opportunity to spend pre-game in the Penguins dugout and throw out the first pitch at YSU’s May 17 game at Eastwood Field.

The “Home Run” prize includes dinner for four at the Belleria in Boardman with the YSU Coaching Staff, four YSU baseball season tickets, four YSU baseball hats and pullovers, the rights to throw out the first pitch at any YSU home game and two movie ticket vouchers for Cinemark Tinseltown at the Southern Park Mall.   Raffle tickets for the “Home Run” prize will be $10.

Pre-registration for the event is required. To reserve your seat, call the YSU Baseball Office at (330) 941-3485. Payment will be accepted at the door. Groups of eight will have tables reserved at prime locations. Individuals and smaller groups are also welcome for open seating.

Fans who would still like to contribute to Penguins baseball, regardless of attendance at the event, can sponsor a student-athlete’s breakfast for $10. For information, contact the baseball office.

The Banquet Hall is located at  343 Via Mount Carmel Ave., Youngstown, OH, 44505.

Zach Humphries thinks that this is a great time to be in school.  He claims the the job market is soft and that if he opts to pursue an MB Degree that he will be better suited for the real world when that time comes.  I first met Humphries at a YSU home football game in the 2009 season.  He was a polite and quiet kid who would deliver stat sheets to the assorted media personnel covering the games.  Not ever knowing what his title or role was, I talked with him to find out what kind of program the college has created to utilize the talents of people like Zach.

Rewind to 1985, I was a freshman enrolled at Youngstown State pursuing a Telecommunications degree.  There were some of the same extras that there are today like intramural sports, fraternities, and too many others to mention.  However, I admit, I am jealous of the opportunities given to Zach as a Sports Information intern.  I would have loved to work for people like Trevor Parks, Jamie Hall, and John Vogel for a grade.  I would have enjoyed calling a YSU game for the HLN or Sirius Satellite Radio.  I would have loved working with a professional the likes of a Robb Schmidt or a Rick Love.

The reality was, back then, there was nothing.  No link at all between the communications department and anyone.  You went to Bliss Hall, learned to cue up a record and follow an on-air log, and not much else.  We were pacified with a hard-wired radio station called WUGS which was only heard in three locations of campus, one being Arby’s in Kilcawley Center.  They left the volume on three and no one heard anything that we did, ever.  Humphries knows that he is pioneering new opportunities for the next wave when he is gone, and I respect that. Having studied journalism, Humphries is a multi-functional type who has great upside when his time comes.  I’m a fan.

I recently got to sit with Humphries and talk with him about these opportunities, where they may take him, and what his plan of attack is for the future.

Paneech: What has happened in the past year that takes you from passing out copies at sporting events to doing the play-by-play a year later?

Humphries: I have learned a lot from Trevor [Parks], Jamie [Hall], and John [Vogel], as well as Todd Mounce when he was here.  All of those people have seen what I am capable of and created more opportunities for me.  As a result, I am getting on the air and calling some games.  All of the little things we are starting, like The Penguin Rundown, we are passing on to the younger students so that they can carry on into the future and even expand.  You can only learn so much in the classroom in this field and you have to get out there and do some hands-on things before you can think about getting a job.

Paneech: Tell me about some of the programs that exist.

Humphries: The Horizon League Network (HLN) is great because it focuses on some of the smaller varsity sports.  Everyone hears about the football and the basketball, but the HLN will do a lot with the soccer, tennis, and volleyball that do not get much attention from the larger media outlets.  We have the access to jump right in and get interviews for the website.  Speaking of, the new website is phenomenal and features a lot of technological progressive features.

Paneech: Do you see, or have you had, problems with coaches.  I’ll give you an example of what I mean.  The unwritten rule is that when the Men’s Basketball Team plays poorly, leave Coach Slocum alone. Rank your favorites for me from one to five with Slocum, Boldon, Wolford, Pasquale, and Burrows.

Humphries: I think it just comes down to being a good communicator.  There are certain people who will come right up to you and start talking and there are others that you just have to know how to approach.  I feel I am a good communicator and that helps me gather interviews from the shy as well as the outgoing.  Pasquale is definitely the easiest. I would probably put Wolford next, then Boldon.  I really haven’t had a chance to talk with Coach Burrows as much as the first three.  Slocum is definitely the hardest.  He wins games, look at his record, he one of the winningest coaches in Division-I Basketball.  I just feel he is harder to approach and uses a different set of people skills than most others.  Boldon, who is fairly new, complimented me a couple of times already and Wolford always acknowledges that he sees the Penguin Review and says nice things.  They are all different, but all very good people.

Humphries (left), pictured with Roy Jones Jr. (center), and Todd Mounce (right), is the kind of guy who likes the new challenge, likes to make the inroads, and is closer to being the finished product than the work in progress.  Robb Schmidt, a veteran media mogul, recently called a game with Humphries and commented on Zach’s performance.  “Zach is one of the kids that has taken this opportunity to heart and really made the most of it.  He is a youngster who is really more mature than a college student doing games while still cutting his teeth.  It is obvious that he cares, but the most important thing is that he prepares. Broadcasting is a hands-on thing and you can only read so much about it.   Zach has had the opportunity to experience some of those things on the internet and radio where he can see what he has done and learn from those mistakes.  John Ridell, Zach, and these other students are really setting up something special for incoming students to have at Youngstown State.”

Zach Humphries is a name you will hear more of if you follow sports.  Check out the Penguin Review on the YSUSports.com website and enjoy the hard work that is being put in.

On an 80 degree Sunday in October, the YSU Baseball Team was having an inter-squad scrimmage.  It wasn’t just a practice under game conditions, it was an ongoing clinic.  The Penguins have some holes to fill and there were many encouraging signs that Coach Rich Pasquale and staff are very capable of filling their holes with able-bodied players.

Pasquale is entering his fourth season.  Much like the football team, Pasquale has surrounded himself with knowledgable and experienced assistant coaches.  Craig Antush, newcomer Bill Herman, and Dan Lipari, as well as Pasquale stopped the action several times to coach up their young team.  Of the things getting the most work were pitchers throwing to first with runners on, base running, proper lead lengths, and other tidbits to fundamentally strengthen the 2011 team.

Gone are Jacke Healey, Tom Clayton, Casey Holland, Eric Hymel, Eric Marzec, CJ Morris, Anthony Nunez, Alex Oles, Anthony Porter, Aaron Swenson, Corey Vukovic, and Trent Wood.  That is a lot of turnover, losing 12 kids to graduation.  Joe Iacobucci and Armani Johnson are expected to fill bigger roles on offense and Phil Klein needs to anchor a very young pitching staff.

“Our biggest challenge is going to be pitching”, remarked Antush.  Remember this readers, good pitchers always credit good catchers for location, calling pitches, framing pitches, and helping a pitcher retain composure during adverse spots of a game.  YSU is fairly green behind the plate losing a couple of catchers to graduation.  So the battery growth is essential for this team to win.  Jonathan Crist started roughly half of the Penguins game behind the plate last season, but with teams playing primarily doubleheaders, someone else will need to emerge.  On the active roster, 17 of the 28 players are freshmen or sophomores.

Pasquale sees potential in many of his new faces.  Standing near him during the scrimmage and freshman Nic Manuppelli firing gas, Pasquale whispered to me, “this kid can really help us this season”.  This program is moving in the right direction and this staff couldn’t be ordered up any better to tutor a young group forward.

A quality Summer baseball camp is being offered to the public for kids ages 6-13 at Eastwood Field.  The instructional camp will take place Wednesday, July 14 through Friday, July 16 and packages can be purchased in different increments.

The camp will feature superior instruction from YSU’s Head Coach, Rich Pasquale. Pasquale and two of his assistants, Craig Antush and Tom Lipari, will conduct several drills to enhance accuracy in development.

• Camp Option One: 9 a.m. – noon.  Fielding, throwing, base running, and hitting.  Cost $125 and videotaping to take place on Wednesday and Friday for hitting.
• Camp Option Two: 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.  Pitching only.  Videotaping will take place on Wednesday and Friday and the cost for pitching camp is $50.
• Camp Option Three: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (all day)  Players to receive instruction in both hitting and pitching.  Cost is $150 and videotaping will take place during both the hitting and pitching sections.  Players choosing the third option are to bring a lunch.

Registration fot the camp starts Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. at Eastwood Field’s offices.  The camp is not a YSU or Mahoning Valley Scrappers promotion, but the attendees will be treated to the best of both worlds with supreme facilities and top of the line instruction.

The camp is limited to the first 75 players and will take place rain or shine.  Campers are encouraged to mark any equipment that they bring and may bring and use baseball shoes.

For more information, call the Mahoning Valley Scrappers at 330-505-000 or Craig Antush at 330-539-4577.

The Youngstown State Softball team is struggling to win games, but the overall product is so much more polished than it used to be. Credit Coach Campbell and his staff for the great work to make this program more respectable than it has been in years.  One of the cogs in the new machine is Haley Thomas. Haley is a Phys Ed Major from Southern California who aspires to teach and coach when her college days come to an end.  As the Penguins head into tournament play this weekend, Thomas will be doing what she has all season, batting leadoff and playing CF for Youngstown State.  Just a Sophomore, Thomas started all 48 regular season games.  In those games, she has racked up eight home runs.  She leads the team in runs (40), total bases (105), walks (23), on-base percentage (.453), and batting average (.376).  I recently caught up with Thomas to discuss her future, getting homesick, and realizing her potential.

Paneech: How many years have you been playing softball?

Thomas: I just finished my tenth year.

Paneech: Have you always been an outfielder?

Thomas: No.  I started playing in the outfield.  I tried catcher and did that for awhile, and then when I got to YSU, I went back to the outfield.  I play some first base also.  I can play all three of those positions.  I have never pitched in my life.  I don’t really know how.

Paneech: What do you credit your big numbers to this season?

Thomas: I wouldn’t be leading the team in total bases and runs unless somebody was batting good behind me.  The team motivates each other to work hard.  Last year, I didn’t have a whole bunch of extra base hits.  I have worked on just trying to hit the ball hard without swinging harder, I use my natural swing.  Same swing every time – see the ball and try to hit it squarely.

Paneech: Do you prefer the 80 degree weather that we are having now, or were you more content when it was 45 degrees?

Thomas: I like the hot weather better for softball.  I grew up in California, so I was used to the hotter weather.

Paneech: Why Physical Education for a major?

Thomas: It is something that I am involved with every day, as well as something I can see myself involved with in the future.  I want to be happy doing something, so if I am not going to be happy there is no use in doing it.  I want to get involved with teaching and coaching.  I am not sure if I would accept a position as a volleyball coach somewhere, I don’t know enough about it.  I did play soccer though, so if I couldn’t coach softball, soccer would be okay.

Paneech: Are you homesick at all?  When will you be heading back West?

Thomas: I do get homesick sometimes.  I am taking a class in the Summer, but I will make my way home in July.

Paneech: Explain this season to me.

Thomas: The team has made a lot of improvement since last season.  We fought hard and played more consistently this year.  Although it may not show on paper, the quality of the team is so much higher than last year.  We don’t always get rewarded in the win column, but mentally we all know that we are striving to make a difference.

One Word Answers

Favorite Breakfast Food: A bagel with peanut butter and jelly.

Biggest Phobia: I don’t know.

Favorite TV Show: Survivor and Grey’s Anatomy.

Sport You Watch Other Than Baseball: Football, I’m a Pittsburgh Steeler fan.

Favorite Movie: Shooter, Band of Brothers.  Any war movies.

Snack You Can’t Stop Eating: Chips.  All kinds, BBQ, Salt and Vinegar.

Worst Habit: Second guessing myself.

Haley and her teammates start Horizon League Tournament play this weekend, where she claims they will “try to win one game at a time, not the whole tournament at once“.  Best of luck Lady Penguins and congratulations on an outstanding effort this season.

Kim Klonowski is enjoying Youngstown State.  She has started all 39 games this season for the Penguins softball team and has more than respectable statistics batting .316 with 5 home runs and a team-high 31 RBI.  She was a Second-Team All-Horizon League pick last year as a sophomore and always poses a threat to smack one out against opposing pitchers.

Refreshingly, Klonowski gets it.  She understands that there may not be a million dollar contract to play softball professionally.  She understands what “student-athlete” means.  She is majoring in chemical engineering and takes her education very seriously.  She also was very good-natured and a tip of the cap to her parents for the great measure of respect she shows both on and off of the diamond.

 

Paneech:  How did you settle on chemical engineering for a major?

Klonowski:  I would like to think I am a good student (laughing).  My sophomore year of high school, my dad sat me down and said “find a major“.  He is an engineer and my uncle is a chemical engineer so I got into it and looked around.  The choice was then chemical or biomedical, and YSU had chemical.  I chose YSU because they had the engineering and they had softball, so it was a really good fit for me.

Paneech:  You lead the team in RBI with 31 and have hit a few bombs this year.  What do you attribute the power to: pitch selectivity, bat speed, or mechanics?

Klonowski:  I pretty much credit bat speed and mechanics.  [Coach Brian] Campbell has done alot with us to make sure we hit inside the ball and drive right through it and that has definitely been the difference.  I am getting comfortable hitting for power, but when you get one out you are lucky.

Paneech:  I came to a couple of games this year and quite frankly, it was freezing.  Do you think that the season should be moved back a month to play in more favorable conditions?

Klonowski:  No, I think you have to learn to play in the elements, no matter what.  When you play a game in the cold, it is a disadvantage to everyone who is playing in it.

Paneech:  Do you follow Major League Baseball?

Klonowski:  Yes, I am a Tigers fan, but Albert Pujols is my favorite player.  My favorite Tiger is Miguel Cabrera.

One Word Answers

Favorite TV Show:  Real Housewives of Orange County.

Fast Food:  Wendy’s.

Biggest Phobia:  I am a germaphobe, big time.

Best Movie Ever Made:  A League of Their Own.

Favorite Soft Drink:  Diet Coke.

Worst Habit:  I am constantly putting on hand sanitizer.

Favorite Cereal:  Cinammon Toast Crunch (every morning).

Musical Preference:  Rock, like Shinedown and Fallout Boy.

Worst Class Ever Taken At YSU:  Organic Chemistry 2.  It was so hard!

Best Class Taken At YSU?  All of my engineering classes are real cool.

Quotable:  “This year’s team has alot of fight.  We can be down a few runs but one person sparks a rally and everyone goes, it is very contagious.  We never give up, and that’s great!”  

Youngstown State could not hold a 5-0 lead after six innings as UIC rallied to post a 9-7 Horizon League win at Eastwood Field on Saturday afternoon.  The bullpen for the Penguins surrendered three home runs over the last three innings, which were the difference in the game.

Sean McDermott, a coach for UIC got tossed in the fifth for calling out the umpires one too many times.  McDermott (below) shouted a host of expletives toward home plate umpire, Paul Lancaster, about the inconsistent strike zone and displeasure toward a called third strike to end an inning for the Flames.

YSU starter, Phil Klein, flirted with danger in his six plus innings loading the bases twice before eventually escaping unharmed.  Klein surrendered five hits over six innings before allowing the leadoff man to reach base in the seventh inning.  Bill Turosky was called in from the bullpen to relieve Klein.  Turosky struck out one batter but allowed the bases to get full yet again. 

Kevin McCulloh was next to pitch for the Penguins.  McCulloh struck out the first batter he faced.  With the bases loaded and two outs, UIC used their biggest weapon, Chris Rutta, to make a pinch-hitting appearance.  Rutta, on an 0-2 pitch, launched a bomb deep into left field which tied the game at 5-5.

Still tied at five runs apiece in the eighth, UIC had Steve McGuigan standing on second base with one out.  On a ball hit to the warning track in right, McGuigan got greedy and tried to score from second but was thrown out at the plate.

Jeremy Banks, who was 3-4 with three RBI’s for Youngstown State, started the bottom of the eighth with a single.  Joe Iacobucci was next, and he also singled moving Banks to third with nobody out.  Anthony Porter then slapped an outside pitch to left which appeared to be trapped.  The umpires ruled it a catch and it ended up being a double play.  Despite the shoddy umpiring, Jacke Healey scored from third to give the Penguins a 6-5 lead.

Alex Oles came into the game to pitch the ninth for YSU.  After getting the leadoff man to ground out, everything fell apart.  Penguins RF Tom Clayton slipped in pursuit of a high fly ball which ended up being a gift triple for UIC’s John Rosinski.  The next batter, Joe Betcher, homered to left-ceneter staking UIC to a 7-6 lead.

Trent Wood was called out of the Penguin bullpen to try and douse the flames and give YSU a realistic chance in the bottom of the ninth inning.  UIC catcher, Ryan Meehan, took Wood’s very first pitch out of the park.  When the top of the ninth ended, YSU trailed 9-6.

Freshman Zac McFarland hit his first career home run for Youngstown State to pull the Penguins to 9-7, but that is where the scoring ended.  YSU dropped to 11-12 (3-2, HL) and UIC improved to 7-15 (3-2, HL).  The teams won a game apiece in the three-game set. 

 

 

For Klein (above), who was effective for 2/3 of the game, the result had to be a disappointing no-decision.

Youngstown State’s softball team felt both ends of a comeback against Canisius on Tuesday.  The Penguins ended up gaining a split in two wild games where no lead was big enough for either team.  Canisius (12-12) took the first game, 7-6, in 10 innings, and YSU rallied late in the nightcap to garner a win, 10-8.

In the first of two games, YSU was unable to hold a 5-1 lead after five innings.  Canisius rallied with three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to hold a 7-6 lead.  YSU tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Exposure to a new rule in a sport I know something about is rare.  In the tenth inning of a non-league softball game, the “International Rule” comes into play.  This rule means that the batter that made the last out for a team batting an inning later, starts at second base with nobody out.  With bunting a routine part of fast-pitch softball, the object of the first batter, unless it is your best hitter, is almost always a sacrifice bunt to move the runner on second to third with no outs.  Kind of reminds me of kickball, when there were not enough kids you had to employ the popular “ghost runners”.

Canisius scored in the top of the tenth.  YSU did not score in the bottom.  Ball game, 7-6.

In the first game, Danielle Chase pitched 9 1/3 innings for YSU.  Chase was sore and yielded to Hana Somogyi in the tenth.  Somogyi took over with one out and gave up three consecutive hits before being pulled.  Chase was pinned with the loss.  Kim Klonowski homered for Youngstown State, and Amanda Palmore, Autumn Grove, and Haley Thomas each had two hits.

In the second game, the roles were reversed.  Canisius held an 8-3 lead in the fifth.  The Penguin bats got hot in a hurry as Klonowski (pictured above) hit another homer.  Palmore and Sarah Gabel then socked back-to-back homers to left field, both solo shots, both career-first home runs.

Kayla Vallery (pictured) pitched 4 2/3 innings in relief of starter Cheryl Cale to pick up the win.  Vallery held Canisius to just three hits.  With the win, Youngstown State improved to 6-15 on the season, but showed great determination to fight back and gain the split.

Coach Brian Campbell reflected on what he saw.  “One of the biggest things is that this group has an ‘I don’t give up’ attitude.  The offense has been pretty good all year, but we have to bring the other parts with us.  We can’t expect our offense to explode for that many hits and runs all of the time.  I’m glad they did step up to the table, but we need to bring the other parts of the game.”