NILES, Ohio – Their first Horizon League contests of the 2023 season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will head to Niles, Ohio for three games with the Youngstown State Penguins at Eastwood Field from Thursday-Saturday, March 16-18.

SERIES SETUP

• Who – Youngstown State (3-13) vs. Oakland (5-9)
• When – Thursday (5 p.m.), Friday (3 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.)
• Where – Niles, Ohio (Eastwood Field)
• Watch – There will not be any television broadcasts of these three games
• Listen (Radio) – Penguin Radio on Your Sports Network
• Live Stats – ysusports.com
• Social Media - @OaklandBSB & @YSUBaseball

SERIES HISTORY

• Overall Record – Youngstown State leads, 25-22 (1999-2022)
• Record in Niles – Penguins lead, 17-10 (2000-22)
• Current Streak – Oakland, W2 (May 26-27, 2022)

STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday

• Oakland – Redshirt senior RHP Bryce Konitzer: 3 starts, 1-0, 2.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, .194 BAA, 9 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 SO
• Youngstown State – Fifth-year senior RHP Travis Perry: 4 starts, 1-1, 5.59 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .214 BAA, 19.1 IP, 15 H, 12 ER, 15 BB, 21 SO

Friday

• Oakland – Sophomore RHP Hunter Pidek: 3 games (2 starts), 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .167 BAA, 12 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 14 SO
• Youngstown State – Junior RHP Nick Perez: 4 starts, 0-2, 10.00 ERA, 2.28 WHIP, .329 BAA, 18 IP, 25 H, 20 ER, 16 BB, 17 SO

Saturday

• Oakland – Senior LHP Travis Densmore: 4 starts, 0-2, 12.06 ERA, 2.17 WHIP, .362 BAA, 15.2 IP, 25 H, 21 ER, 9 BB, 15 SO
• Youngstown State – TBD

OAKLAND OVERVIEW

• Thursday will be the Golden Grizzlies' first action since the Sunday, March 12 series finale with the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, as both games in their scheduled March 14 and 15 home-and-home with the Bowling Green Falcons were postponed by winter weather
• Konitzer was named the Nike #HLBASE Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday for his five shutout inning performance in the March 8 victory over the Michigan Wolverines, making him the first Oakland player to receive this award in 2023
• Pidek struck out a career-high seven in his last start, the Friday, March 10 win over Southern Indiana
• Redshirt sophomore center fielder Drew Collins hit .438 (7-16) in the Golden Grizzlies' four games from March 8-12, tallying two triples, a home run, six runs scored and five RBI
• The only player to start all 14 games this season, redshirt senior shortstop Thomas Green is Oakland's leading hitter at .296 (16-54) with a pair of three-hit showings in the last three games

YOUNGSTOWN STATE OVERVIEW

• The ninth head coach in program history, the Penguins are led by Dan Bertolini, who is in his seventh season at the helm
• 11 of Youngstown State's 16 games thus far in 2023 have come against Power Five conference opponents, as the Penguins played a pair of games with both the Illinois Fighting Illini and Wake Forest Demon Deacons, three with the Kansas State Wildcats and four with the Baylor Bears
• Perry, Youngstown State's Thursday starter, stands at 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds and has won eight career games for the Penguins
• Senior right-hander Casey Marshalwitz has made a team-high nine appearances out of the bullpen, registering one save, a 12.27 ERA, 11 walks and four strikeouts over 7.1 innings
• Freshman Braden Gebhardt and redshirt junior Kenny Misik, both lefties, and fellow freshman Brandin Anderson, a right-hander, have also been popular relief options for Bertolini, combining to make 23 appearances out of the bullpen
• One of three Youngstown State players above the .300 mark, left-handed-hitting redshirt junior shortstop Trey Law paces the Penguins at .355 (22-62) with four doubles, 10 runs scored, six RBI and three stolen bases