ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland softball program will ride its eight-game win steak into Ohio to face the Youngstown State Penguins for doubleheaders on Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, at the YSU Softball Field. The opening doubleheader will commence at 3 p.m. and stream on ESPN3, while Saturday's doubleheader is set for a 1 p.m. start. Live stats will be provided for all four games.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
April 16 | 3 p.m. |
Watch |
Live Stats
April 16 | 5 p.m. |
Watch |
Live Stats
April 17 | 1 p.m. |
Live Stats
April 17 | 3 p.m. |
Live Stats
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State has raced out to an impressive 23-9 start to the 2021 season. The Penguins lead the Horizon League by a slim margin with a 16-4 record in conference play. YSU has won nine of its last 10 contests, including sweeps over IUPUI and Cleveland State. In non-conference action, the Penguins dropped two games to Saint Francis (Pa.), split series at Norfolk State and Dayton, and swept Akron.
Junior infielder Nikki Saibene has paced the offense by batting .374 with 10 doubles, four home runs, and 27 RBI. Freshman infielder Jillian Jakse has hit .330 with 10 extra-base hits and 21 RBI. The pitching duo of Elle Buffenbarger and Maddi Lusk has combined for 22 complete games, 21 wins, and five shutouts in 177.1 innings. Both pitchers boast an ERA below 3.00.
ALL-TIME VS. YSU
YSU leads 12-10 in the all-time series. The programs last met in the first round of the 2019 Horizon League tournament, when Oakland prevailed by a score of 6-4 in 15 innings.
Lauryn Debono tossed a school-record 13.0 innings in the circle while also recording a collegiate-best 11 strikeouts. Offensively,
Jamie Squires tallied a school-record five hits. The Golden Grizzlies fell to the Penguins in regular-season play during the 2019 campaign with a trio of losses.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
The weekend series will feature the top-two schools in the Horizon League standings. YSU leads the conference with a 16-4 record, while Oakland is a game behind at 15-5. UIC and Robert Morris round out the front half of the standings with League records of 15-7 and 13-9. The top-four seeds after the regular season will advance to the 2021 Horizon League Softball Championship from May 13-15 at the site of the No. 1 seed.
WEEKEND RECAP
The Golden Grizzlies are coming off its second-straight series sweep, as they won four in a row over Cleveland State. In the series alone, OU outscored CSU, 28-8, and broke two school records. As a team, Oakland batted .393 and averaged 7.0 runs per game. The pitching staff limited the Vikings to two or fewer runs in three games, including just a single run twice.
MAKING HISTORY
Cammie Brummitt and Squires made history in Oakland's series sweep over Cleveland State last weekend. Brummitt smashed a school-record three doubles in the series opener, while Squires hit a grand slam in the series finale to become OU's school-record holder in career RBI with 98. Squires surpassed current graduate assistant
Brittney Miller who was previously the program leader with 97 career RBI.
RECORD WATCH
Last weekend, Squires moved into a tie for first place in school history in career home runs with 20. Sarah Hartley ('16 alum) sits atop of the category with Squires. Redshirt junior third baseman
Madison Jones is close behind Squires with 18 career home runs, good for third in program history. Jones' 11 career triples also rank third in program history.
FEELS LIKE 2015
OU's 15-5 conference record is its best start through 20 games since joining the Horizon League in 2014. Previously, the Golden Grizzlies' best 20-game start was in 2015, when they went 14-6 in conference play. The 2015 team proceeded to win the Horizon League Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
THRIVING IN THE CIRCLE
Sophomore pitcher
Sydney Campbell is 10-2 with a 1.69 ERA in 82.2 innings of work. She ranks second in the HL in wins, ERA, and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.83) while also holding top-five conference marks in complete games (9, T-3rd) and shutouts (1, T-5th). Furthermore, Campbell ranks seventh in NCAA Division I and first in the HL in walks allowed per seven innings (0.56). She has walked no batters in 12 of her 17 appearances.
GRIFFITH CAN RAKE
Junior
Lauren Griffith ranks first on the team and fourth in the Horizon League with a .378 batting average. She has garnered multiple hits in nine games, including a season-high three hits on three different occasions. In conference play, Griffith has batted an improved .391 with seven doubles, four home runs, and 16 RBI. The Grove City, Ohio native was especially impressive in the Green Bay series, as she batted .538 with two doubles, two home runs, and five RBI.
DO-IT-ALL JONES
Jones has batted .354 with eight doubles, three triples, three home runs, 12 RBI, and 29 runs scored in 24 starts. In the conference rankings, she holds top-10 marks in runs (T-2nd), triples (T-2nd), slugging percentage (.646, 4th), stolen bases (10, 4th), doubles (6th), total bases (51, 7th), on-base percentage (.440, 8th).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brummitt and Campbell have racked Horizon League awards through six weeks of play. Brummitt earned League Player of the Week after hitting .412 with one triple, three home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored in the IUPUI series. Campbell went 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA, one complete game, and eight strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work in the Green Bay series en route to earning League Pitcher of the Week.
3/16/21 -
Cammie Brummitt - HLSB Player of the Week (1st of career)
4/6/21 -
Sydney Campbell - HLSB Pitcher of the Week (1st of career)
OFFENSIVE EXCELLENCE
In conference-only action, OU holds top-three marks in batting average (.322, 1st), slugging percentage (.499, 1st), home runs (17, 2nd), hits (184, 2nd), doubles (38, 2nd), runs (119, 2nd), RBI (100, 2nd), on-base percentage (.367, 3rd), and triples (6, 3rd). Through 20 games, the Golden Grizzlies have scored five or more runs 12 times.
HITTING IS CONTAGIOUS
The Golden Grizzlies rank first in the Horizon League and 36th nationally with a .305 batting average. Griffith (.378), Brummitt (.356), Jones (.354),
Jen Krizka (.333),
Shannon Carr (.333),
Jessie Munson (.319), Squires (.313), and
Rachel Zerona (.303) are currently batting above .300 on the season.
HOME COOKIN'
The Golden Grizzlies are 11-1 at home after series wins over Northern Kentucky, Green Bay, and Cleveland State. The home win total is tied for their most in a single season since 2009. Oakland's 2003 squad holds a school record in home victories in a season with 14.
GETTING IT DONE ON DEFENSE
Oakland has showcased the second-best fielding percentage (.968) among HL programs in conference-only action. The Golden Grizzlies opened the season with multiple errors for three games in a row. However, the team has committed multiple errors just four times in the last 21 games, including no errors in eight games.
NEWCOMERS
OU welcomed six newcomers — all freshmen — to the program last fall. Four of the six freshmen come from Michigan. The other two newcomers arrive on campus from Ohio and Indiana.
#HLSB PRESEASON POLL
The Golden Grizzlies were picked fourth in the Horizon League Softball preseason coaches poll. Oakland was one of two teams (UIC) to receive a first-place vote in the poll. UIC was projected to win the conference with 99 points and nine of the 10 first-place votes.
