ROCHESTER, Mich. – The five-seeded Golden Grizzlies will take on four-seed Youngstown State in the first round play-in game of the 2026 Horizon League Baseball Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. First pitch for game one is set for 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 20. Greg Rakestraw will have the call on ESPN+.
Oakland dropped the final series of the regular season at Milwaukee last weekend.
The Golden Grizzlies opened the series against Milwaukee with a dramatic 12–11 loss in 11 innings on Thursday night at Franklin Field. OU battled throughout the contest, using a three-run seventh inning to climb back into the game after trailing early. Ben Clark and Lucas Day helped lead the offense as Oakland continued to answer Milwaukee's scoring threats inning after inning. Despite the comeback effort and multiple clutch hits late in the game, the Panthers secured the walk-off victory with a run in the bottom of the 11th to hand Oakland a heartbreaking extra-inning defeat.
Friday's matchup saw Oakland produce another strong offensive performance, collecting 12 hits and six doubles in an 8–4 loss. Sam Griffith paced the lineup with three hits, including two doubles, while scoring twice for the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland consistently put runners on base and generated scoring opportunities throughout the afternoon, but Milwaukee capitalized on an early advantage and limited Oakland's momentum in key situations.
In Saturday's series finale, Oakland recorded 11 hits and seven doubles but fell to Milwaukee 14–8. Boston Halloran and Carter Hain each posted two hits and scored two runs to lead the offense, while Hain also added a scoreless inning with a strikeout on the mound. The Golden Grizzlies stayed aggressive offensively and continued their trend of producing extra-base hits, but Milwaukee answered with timely scoring throughout the game.
The Golden Grizzlies earned six 2026 Horizon League Baseball postseason honors, marking the program's most all-league selections since 2024 and the most First or Second Team honorees since 2002. Kyle Revere was named First Team All-League after leading the team with eight home runs, 60 hits, and 32 RBIs while posting a .973 fielding percentage at shortstop. Second Team honors went to Ben Clark, who paced the team with a .354 batting average and 67 hits, Lucas Day, who excelled offensively and defensively at first base, Ben Green, who led the pitching staff in strikeouts, and Aidan Schuck, who topped the Horizon League in runners caught stealing. Green and fellow freshman pitcher Josh Rosenblitt also earned All-Freshman Team recognition after strong debut seasons on the mound.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
As a team hitting .235 collectively, the Youngstown State is led by Horizon League Pitcher of the Year Braden Gebhardt, sporting a league-leading 2.82 ERA and 99 strikeouts on the year. YSU is coming off of a hot streak, winning their last five of six games, including a sweep of the regular-season champion Wright State.
Oakland split its two Horizon League series against Youngstown State Penguins baseball during the 2026 season, with the Golden Grizzlies taking two of three games on the road in March before the Penguins answered with a sweep in Rochester in April. Oakland opened conference play by dropping an 11-6 contest despite a fifth-inning rally highlighted by Kyle Revere's grand slam, but bounced back the next day with a 12-6 victory powered by three triples and two home runs. Jack Lux, Ben Clark, and Nick Mardis fueled the offense as Oakland evened the series. The Golden Grizzlies then secured the weekend series win on March 15 with a late seventh-inning rally, overcoming an early deficit to claim their first Horizon League series victory of the year.
When the teams met again in April at the Oakland Baseball Field, Youngstown State flipped the momentum. The Penguins swept a Friday doubleheader, surviving a wild 13-12 slugfest in the opener before cruising to a 16-2 victory in game two behind a barrage of extra-base hits. Oakland's offense remained productive throughout the season series, receiving standout performances from players like Aidan Schuck, Ben Clark, Jack Lux, and Lucas Day, but the pitching staff struggled to contain Youngstown State's lineup during the April meetings.
The Golden Grizzlies and Penguins met twice during the 2025 Horizon League Tournament in a pair of high-scoring, offense-heavy games that saw Oakland eliminate Youngstown State. OU opened the matchup with a dominant 13–2 win, powered by three home runs and an early offensive surge that set the tone for the series. The following day, the teams played one of the wildest games in program history, as Oakland outlasted YSU 22–18 in 10 innings in an elimination showdown that featured constant lead changes, explosive hitting from both sides, and a program-record 12 stolen bases for the Golden Grizzlies.
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