NOTEBOOK | Horizon Baseball
Tied record: YSU junior pitcher Chris Dennis tied the tournament record for most walks in game when he issued 11 Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. The record was set in 1990 by Steve Horne of Xavier against Detroit. Dennis threw 113 pitches in five innings, only 54 of them were strikes.
Another record tied: YSU and Illinois Chicago combined to leave 28 base runners stranded on the bases during their winner's bracket final Saturday. It tied the tournament record.
On the air: Today's championship game will be broadcast live over WKBN 570 radio with Chad Krispinsky handling the play-by-play.
Beautiful voice: YSU sophomore Shaylee Peckens, graduate of Buckeye Local High School, sang the national anthem before Saturday's first game. Peckens is a pre-med major at YSU.
Singles galore: Youngstown State does not have an extra base hit in its three tournament victories. The Penguins have 27 singles and the YSU pitching has only allowed only one extra base hit in the three games, a double by Butler's Tony Barnes.
Today's starter: Sophomore righthander Kevin Libeg will get the start for YSU in today's championship game. Libeg will be making his first appearance in the tournament and has a 4-3 record in 54 innings. It will be his ninth start of the year. The 6-4, 210 pounder is a graduate of Hubbard High School.
Up next: Today's winner will advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament. Today at 3:10 p.m. ESPN2 will hold a regional show to announce the 16 NCAA regional sites. On Monday at noon the 64 team field will be announced also on ESPN2. Horizon League officials indicated that today's winner could possibly play Notre Dame, which was in the championship game of the Big East Tournament today. The Irish, 48-10, would play host to a regional event should they win today. The game would be in South Bend, Ind.