Pasquale era gets started Friday

The YSU baseball team’s southern swing begins in Atlanta.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — The Rich Pasquale era for Youngstown State baseball gets underway Friday when the Penguins begin the 2008 season with a southern swing that begins in Atlanta, when they will take on Georgia Tech.

Pasquale, who took over the head coaching position this season after Mike Florak resigned, is in his first season as a Division I head coach, coming from Slippery Rock University where he was the top assistant.

Pasquale inherited a veteran group of players that includes seven position starters and 12 returning pitchers. He has nine seniors on the roster and is counting on them for leadership.

“Our nine seniors have done just that,” Pasquale said. “They are our leaders and they’ve shown that throughout the early workouts.”

Pasquale said the Penguins have been outside only five times, but he’s confident that they’ll be ready for this opening swing of road games.

“We were able to get out on the football playing surface and were able to accomplish what we needed to get done out there,” Pasquale said.

“We’re excited to get going and I feel that we will be exciting to watch,” he added.

This year’s team is bolstered by four returning hitters who all batted over .300 a year ago. They are led by Horizon League first team outfielder John Koehnlein, who was ranked fourth in the nation a year ago in batting (.434) and finished the season with a 29-game hitting streak.

Seniors Erich Diedrich and Josh Page were second-team all-league selections and Diedrich is four RBIs and four home runs short of setting the school career records in both categories. Page has batted .332 over the past two seasons.

Tom Clayton was an honorable mention All-Ping as a freshman and Anthony Munoz and Ryan Dunlap were on the Horizon League’s all-newcomer team.

Senior Lucas Engle, back for his fourth season, will be the opening day starting pitcher. He’s started 14 games and pitched more than 90 innings in each of the last two years.

The Penguins will play three games against Georgia Tech, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then will play Pittsburgh in a three-game series beginning March 1 in Chillicothe. The Penguins will play their first home game March 18 against Findlay at 3 p.m. at Cene Park.

YSU will also host the 2008 Horizon League championships beginning May 20 at Eastwood Field in Niles. The last time the Penguins hosted the event in 2004 they won the title and competed in their first NCAA tournament.

mollica@vindy.com