Host Penguins in action today at McCune Park

Youngstown State will take on No. 3 seeded Detroit at 11 a.m.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State head softball coach Christy Cameron knows that she and her Penguins have one big advantage going into today's opening round of the Horizon League Tournament.
The Penguins will be playing at home at McCune Park in Canfield when they take on Detroit today at 11 a.m. in the second game of the tournament.
"We just spent our last three weekends on the road and just being back at home will be a big lift to this team," Cameron said.
"This is the first time ever that we've hosted a league tournament and everybody is excited about what's ahead," Cameron said.
Lost twice to Titans
The Penguins lost two of three games to Detroit in the regular season, but Cameron feels that anything can happen during tournament play.
"We need to play consistent defense and make the routine plays, we can't allow them any extra outs," she said. "So the key to this weekend is defense.
"We also have to execute in situations at the plate and we have to have some people step up and lead the way," Cameron said. "We also need to capitalize on the mistakes that other teams make against us."
Cameron knows that in order for the Penguins to fare well in the tournament they must remain in the winners bracket as long as possible.
An opening-round defeat would throw the Penguins into the losers bracket and involve a lot more games to be played.
Burnell leads mound staff
The Penguins have one of the top pitchers in the league in junior Karlie Burnell. As long as she is one the mound, the Penguins feel they have as good as chance as anyone to win.
She also expects big things out of her seniors players.
"They've been through this before and they know what it takes to win under tournament pressure," she said.
This is Cameron's seventh season as head coach of the Penguins and her overall record is 132-210-1.
Her best season was in 2003 when the Penguins set a school record with 36 wins and improved from 1-13 in the Horizon League to 13-5-1 and gave her the Horizon League's Coach of the Year award.
Unfortunately, Cameron has only one player remaining from that 2003 team which is her only team that has won two games in the tournament. In the past two seasons, the Penguins have lost two straight in the tournament.
Patteson top hitter
Senior Tiffany Patteson is the only player returning from that 2003 team and she's one of the best in the conference with a .345 batting average.
The Penguins have a couple of freshmen players that have provided most of the power hitting this season.
Kristen McDonnell leads the team with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs while Allyse Ledford has hit nine home runs and drove in 37 runs.
"They have both managed to stay at an even level all season long," Cameron said. "They never got too high and never too low and that's usually hard for a freshman."
Cameron is also hoping that a big local turnout will help ignite the Penguins during the tournament.
"We're just going to appreciate being at home and hosting for the first time in the school's history," she added.
A YSU victory this morning would put the Penguins' next game on Friday at 9 a.m. against the winner of the Cleveland State-Wright State game. Should the Penguins lose, they would have to come back and play at 6 p.m. today against the loser of the Vikings-Raiders game.
mollica@vindy.com