Baseball

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Marzec's Three Homers Power Penguins Past Mountaineers, 13-9
Tuesday, May 13 2008

Morgantown, W.Va. -- Eric Marzec hit three of Youngstown State's four home runs, and the Penguins held on to defeat West Virginia 13-9 on Monday at Hawley Field.

Marzec's three round-trippers tied Jim Lipinski's school record set against Oakland on May 6, 2001, and the sophomore broke the single game record for total bases with 13.

His first home run of the day was a three-run shot in the fourth that put the Penguins (20-30) up 10-0. West Virginia then stormed back by scoring nine of the next 10 runs and (35-16) trailed just 11-9 after seven innings.

Marzec's solo homer in the seventh accounted for YSU's only run during the West Virginia rally, and he hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the final tally.

Marzec finished 4-for-6 with six RBIs and four runs scored batting in the sixth spot as the designated hitter.

Sean Lucas added three hits and two runs, Erich Diedrich scored three times and Joe Iacobucci had three RBIs.

Adam Kalafos earned his fifth win of the year, allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Craig Gillet did not allow a run on four hits in three innings of relief.

"This is a big win for this program," YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. "That was a good team that we beat today with 35 wins, 26 of them coming at home. Hopefully this will give us some confidence that we can compete and close out games."

Iacobucci got the Penguins on the board in the first with a two-run double, and his RBI double in the third made the score 4-0. Porter then greeted reliever Ross Fetterly with his first career home run, and Marzec, David Leon and Jason Reitenbach followed with three straight singles to put YSU up 7-0.

Marzec's three-run homer with two outs in the fourth then gave YSU a 10-0 cushion.

But West Virginia, which entered the game as one of the top offensive teams in the nation with a .347 average, awoke and scored all nine of its runs on 11 hits in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Five straight singles to start the fifth, a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly accounted for four runs in the fifth, and Austin Markel homered to start the sixth to cut the lead to 10-5.

Marzec's led off the seventh with a homer to put YSU ahead 11-5, but another four-run inning for WVU in the bottom half made the score 11-9.

Gillet worked around two hits in the eighth, and Marzec rewarded him with a two-run homer to left center in the top of the ninth for the game's final runs.

The Penguins will play their final home game of the season Tuesday evening at Cene Park against Kent State. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

Baseball

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Swenson Earns Second League Pitcher of the Week Award
Tuesday, May 13 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State sophomore Aaron Swenson has been named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced on Monday.
Swenson earned his sixth league win of the season against Valpo on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits in a complete-game effort.

The Twinsburg, Ohio, native retired 10 straight batters until No. 9 hitter John Giusti singled to start the sixth inning. He was sacrificed to second and scored later in the inning on a two-out single for Valpo's only run.

Swenson is now 6-3 overall and 6-1 in Horizon League games after picking up his fifth complete game victory of the year on Saturday. He leads the Horizon League in innings pitched (85.2) and strikeouts (61), ranks second in wins (6), and is third in ERA (3.68) and opposing batting average (.255).

Swenson will go for his seventh win on Thursday at Miller Park when he pitches against Miwlaukee.

Soccer

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Penguins Add Two More Recruits to 2008 Team
Tuesday, May 13 2008

Youngstown -- Head soccer coach Anthony James announced that midfielder Dominique Ward (Shadyside, Pa.) and goalkeeper Nicole Kline (Davie, Fla.) have signed National Letters of Intent to play for Youngstown State this fall.

Ward began her soccer career at the age of seven with the Pittsburgh Dynamo team. She went on to play with PFC, IFC, Western PA Olympic Development Program and Penn's Forest.

Ward was a four-year letterwinner at Taylor Allderdice High and was one of the team's top scorers. She was also a three-time All-Section selection under her coach Chris Edmonds and was the leading goal score in the City League in 2006. Ward is currently a member of the Penn's Forest U18 Los Lobos team.

James described Ward as a midfield who is known for her goal scoring abilities.
"Dominique is a tenacious hard working player who comes to play all the time. She is a very good one-on-one defender as well. I expect her to compete for one of the starting defensive midfield positions," said James.

Ward said she chose YSU because she felt that it was the best fit for her.

"I love the coaches, the team and the school," added Ward.

Kline is a 5-foot-9 four-year varsity goalkeeper from Western High School. She was selected to the All-Broward Conference team and was named team MVP and captain. In her freshman year, Kline played a pivotal role in her team being named the 2005 5A/6A District Champions and Regional Finalist. Kline is a current member of the Sunrise Flames FC U-17 soccer team.

"Nicole is extremely athletic," James said. "This allows her to catch balls that many other goalkeepers would miss."

James also sees a great deal of potential in Kline.

"Even though Nicole is still growing and developing as a player, she has the ability to step in and start right away for us in the fall," he added.
Kline said the coaches were one of the main reasons she signed with YSU

"I choose YSU because Coach James and Coach Greg showed me that their program would be the best fit for me. YSU offered everything I was looking for in a school both athletically and academically," explained Kline.

"After meeting and talking with both coaches, I believed that I would enjoy playing for coaches that had such a passion for the game and really believed in my potential.”

Women's Basketball

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Women’s Basketball Inks Macey Nortey to National Letter of Intent
Monday, May 12 2008

Youngstown – Youngstown State women’s basketball Head Coach Cindy Martin announced on Monday that Macey Nortey (Long Beach, Calif.) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Penguins program for the 2008-09 basketball season.

A 5-foot-3 point guard, Nortey was a four-time all-conference selection and averaged 4.4 points, 4.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game in 2007-08. Nortey also led Millikan High School to a school-record 24 wins last season.

“Macey is what I would consider a true point guard,” Martin said. “She can handle the ball, defend for 94 feet, and get the ball to our scorers. We will be able to really push the tempo on our fast break with Macey on the floor.

"Macey has a tremendous work ethic,” Martin added. “Her dedication to academics and to basketball is exactly what this program needs."

Nortey, a starter in the First Annual So-Cal Sparks All-Star Game, guided Millikan to a conference co-championship and the program’s first appearance in the state playoffs. Nortey said Youngstown State was a perfect fit for her to continue her education and basketball career.

“I chose Youngstown State because of the school, players and coaches.” Nortey said. “It fit every puzzle piece that I need to not only be a successful student-athlete but a better person. I felt right at home at YSU and I know we are going to be successful with the very talented coaching staff we have.

“I am excited to play with good post players and I know it will be my job to get them the ball,” Nortey added.

Track & Field

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Anthony, Romeo Lead Penguins to Horizon Sweep with Outdoor Title
Friday, May 9 2008

Youngstown -- Youngstown State's Alisha Anthony and Breanne Romeo were named the top newcomers, and the Penguins had a solid all-around effort to capture the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field crown on campus Friday.

Anthony won the triple jump with a school-record mark off 39-4 and finished second in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 18-11 1/4. Romeo was one-hundredth of a second from tying the Horizon League record in the 400m, turning in a first-place time of 55.36. The freshman from Boardman, Ohio, also finished sixth in the 200m and ran the first leg of YSU's champion 4x400m-relay.

Head coach Brian Gorby was named the Women's Coach of the Year for the 15th time inhis career after leading the program to its seventh league title in the last five years.

Bethany Anderson added a win in the hammer on Thursday, and both of YSU's women's relays were victorious. The Penguins defeated Milwaukee 194-178 while Valparaiso finished third in its first year in the league with 74 points.

Freshman Jerrill Hall was named the Men's Field Newcomer of the Year after placing second in the high jump (6-6 3/4) and sixth in the long jump (22-1 3/4). The Penguins men's squad earned the runner-up finish for the second time in three years, coming 14 points shy of Milwaukee for the title.

Both squads led after the first day of competition, but Milwaukee made a strong run for both titles on day two. The YSU actually held the lead longer than the women before Milwaukee rallied to outscore YSU 46-10 in the 200m and triple jump in the final hour. YSU and Milwaukee traded the lead throughout the afternoon in the women's competition before Anthony's big win in the triple jump and strong performances in the 400m hurdles and the 200m lifted the Penguins to a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles for the first time since 2005.

Harold Jones and Aaron Merrill joined Shayne York as individual champions for the men's squad. Jones held off teammate R.D. Goodright to win the 800m with a personal-best time of 1:52.76. Merrill led three Penguins in the top four in the shot put with a winning heave of 55-8 1/4.

Joining Romeo on the winning 4x400m relay were Emily Wollet, Yandeh Joh and Kari Kreutzfeld. Anthony and Kreutzfeld teamed up with Katie Betts and Darcelle Formby to win the 4x100m relay.

Earning second-team all-conference honors with runner-up finishes were Anthony in the 100m (12.37), Katy Wells in the 100m hurdles (14.89), Joh in the 400m hurdles (1:04.38), Jen Grayson in the high jump (5-3), Anthony in the long jump, Anderson in the shot put (43-7) and the discus (139-6) and Alexis Hall in the hammer (160-7).

Second-place finishers for the men included Adam Kagarise in the 400m (47.89), Goodright in the 800m (1:53.08), Jake Lape in the steeplechasae (9:43.43), Hall in the high jump and Joe Lahmon in the hammer (187-10) and the javelin (168-10). Jones, Goodright, Kagarise and Mike Perri ran in the runner-up 4x400m relay.

All six of YSU's individual champions and the two winning relays earned a berth to compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional on May 30-31 at the University of Arkansas.

Softball

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Bedra Named to ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Third-Team
Friday, May 9 2008

Youngstown -- Just one day after being named First-Team All-Horizon League for the second straight year, Youngstown State senior McKenzie Bedra was named to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Third-Team, the College Sports Information Directors announced on Thursday.

Bedra, who is Youngstown State's all-time home run and RBI leader, carries a 3.36 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science.

The Bowling Green, Ohio, native owns a team-best .331 batting average and twice tied the YSU single-season home run record in 2008.

Bedra also leads the Penguins with 32 runs batted in and is tied for the team-lead with 11 home runs.