No room for error vs. UM

Michigan, the defending national champion, is 40-13 and the No. 9 seed among 64 teams.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State softball coach Christy Cameron knows the Penguins have no room for error when they play in their first NCAA Division I tournament game Friday.
The Penguins (22-25) will meet Michigan in the opening round of the Ann Arbor regional at 7 p.m.
In the tournament's first game, Oklahoma (38-19-1) will play Kent State (32-22) at 4:30 p.m.
The Wolverines (40-13) are the top seed at the regional and the No. 9 seed in the 64-team tournament. They are also the defending national champions.
The Penguins, who struggled all season, finally put everything together in the Horizon League tournament posting a 4-0 record as the No. 6 seed and winning their first league title.
"We have to continue doing the things that we did last weekend," Cameron said. "We have to play great softball and we can't afford to make any mistakes."
Can be done
The Penguins did a good job of that in the Horizon tournament, making no errors in 122 defensive chances over the four games.
"The big thing about playing a team like Michigan is that if you get opportunities you have to make the most of them," she said.
Cameron said she expects the Penguins to be a little nervous before the game.
"It's normal to be a little nervous before any game and I'd be more worried if they weren't somewhat nervous," she said.
"We talked about what we've already accomplished this season and I told them that they can't just be satisfied with that," Cameron added. "If we play like we have been playing then we have a chance against anybody."
The Penguins knocked off top-seeded Illinois-Chicago twice in the league tournament, including a 2-1 win in the championship game on a walk-off home run by senior Tiffany Patteson in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Patteson was named to the all-tournament team with a .467 average, two doubles, a home run and four RBIs.
She was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore McKenzie Bedra and junior pitcher Karlie Burnell. Bedra was named the tournament's most valuable player.
Eight home runs
The Penguins hit eight home runs in the tournament, including five by Bedra, who has 14 in two seasons and is just four short of the school record.
Burnell won all four games in the tournament and pitched 251/3 of the team's 26 innings.
"Karlie's going to have to continue that performance against Michigan," said Cameron. "She must keep the ball down and rely on her defense."
Cameron, in her seventh season at YSU, is the third coach in school history to record 100 wins. She has 136 at YSU and 152 for her career.
The Penguins were scheduled to leave this morning. They have batting practice at 4 p.m. and infield practice at 5.
The winners of Friday's games will play at noon Saturday in a game televised by ESPN2. The two losers will follow at 2:30 p.m. with a third game between the loser of Saturday's first game and the winner of the second at 5.
The tournament wraps up Sunday with the championship game scheduled at 1 p.m. A second game, if necessary, will follow immediately. The regional winner will advance to a Super Regional against the winner of the Knoxville, Tenn., regional, May 26-27. The Women's College World Series is June 1-7 at Oklahoma City, Okla.
mollica@vindy.com