COLLEGE BASEBALL Cox is basking in YSU homers' record with 25

Adam Cox passed now-assistant coach Andrew Clough for YSU's career home run lead.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Adam Cox has always been a home run hitter, starting in Little League, then high school and now with the Youngstown State baseball team.
The 6-foot, 185-pound senior catcher broke the YSU career home run record recently, when he hit three home runs in a two-game series against West Liberty College.
Those three homers gave him 25 as a Penguin, breaking the old record of 23, which was set from 1997-2000 by Andrew Clough, who is currently an assistant coach with the Penguins.
"I kind of knew coming into this season that I was going to break the record since I needed only four," Cox said. "Records are nice, but wins are much more important."
YSU is 7-17
This season the wins haven't come as often as Cox and the Penguins have liked. YSU was 7-17 overall and 1-3 in the Horizon League, going into today's doubleheader with Duquesne, which was scheduled for 3 p.m. at Eastwood Field.
"I really don't know what the problem is this year," said Cox. "We have some great players and the expectations were very high going into the season."
Cox, a native of Dayton and a graduate of Vandalia Butler High, has been doing his part.
He leads the team in slugging percentage (.611), RBIs (25), triples (1), home runs (6) and total bases (45).
But the long ball has been his specialty over his first three years at YSU.
Tied mark last year
Last year, he tied the school's single-season record for home runs with 11. He is just four RBIs short of passing Clough for the career record of 118.
Asked if he and Clough have talked about him passing up the coach's records, Cox laughed. "You know we've never even said one word about it to each other."
Cox has been a regular with the Penguins almost from the time he stepped foot on the YSU campus.
He played in 40 games, starting 29, as a freshman when he hit .321. He started 42 games as a sophomore and 54 games last season. He's started all 24 this year and carries a career .285 batting average.
Big adjustment
Cox said that it was a pretty big adjustment from high school to college baseball.
"The biggest thing is the time put in," he said. "In high school baseball is just a spring thing, but in college it is a year-round thing."
"That and the pitching were the big differences," he continued. "In high school you might face a real good pitcher once every five or six games, but in college every pitcher is a good one."
What has been his success for hitting home runs?
"Well, first of all you've got to look for a pretty good pitch," he said. "That and the bat speed are what's needed.
"In college with aluminum bats it is easy to generate good bat speed, and when you connect solidly with these bats they usually go out," he added.
Cox said that he's had to work hard in the weight room throughout his career to maintain his quickness and strength. "It's just part of being a college player," he said.
After today, the Penguins' next scheduled home game is April 27 against Ohio University.
They'll play 10 of their final 19 games at Eastwood Field, and on May 25-29 they'll play host to the Horizon League tournament.