Penguins face Milwaukee

Penguins face Milwaukee

DAYTON

Youngstown State will open play at the 2011 Horizon League Baseball Championship on Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Milwaukee at Wright State’s Nischwitz Stadium.

The Penguins will enter the double-elimination tournament as the No. 6 seed in the field while Milwaukee is the No. 3. YSU finished the regular season with a 12-39 overall record and a 7-16 mark in conference play. Two of those wins came against Milwaukee. If the Penguins beat the Panthers, they will play No. 1 Wright State Thursday at 7 p.m. on Thursday. If YSU falls to Milwaukee, it will play an elimination game against No. 4 Valparaiso or No. 5 Butler on Thursday at 11 a.m.

YSU athletes set record

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State student-athletes set program highs for combined cumulative grade-point average, number of athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.0 while a record 59 percent had a semester GPA above 3.00 as well.

Overall, YSU’s 16 athletic teams posted a combined cumulative GPA of 3.06 during the 2011 spring semester. Thirteen programs had GPA’s above 3.00 while men’s cross country had a 2.99 GPA and men’s basketball finished with a 2.96 GPA.

Of the 314 student-athletes in the department, 177 own a cumulative GPA above a 3.00. During this past semester, 183 student-athletes posted a GPA of better than a 3.00. Football led the way with 38 individuals eclipsing that mark.

Stambaugh Stadium getting new turf

CLEVELAND

Sports Construction Group L.L.C., a builder of both natural and synthetic turf athletic fields, has begun construction of a new synthetic turf system at Youngstown State University’s Stambaugh Stadium.

SCG will install a Shaw Sportexe PowerBlade HP+ synthetic turf system, which combines the appearance of natural grass with the engineered performance of modern synthetic turf.

It is specially designed to enhance player speed and performance while providing for maximum player safety.

In addition, SCG recently installed Shaw Sportexe PowerBlade HP+ synthetic turf on YSU’s Watson and Tressel Training Site, an indoor practice facility for the football team.

Ohio State picked No. 9

NASHVILLE

Athlon Sports, publisher of the No. 1-selling college football magazine, has selected Ohio State at No. 9 with two preseason All-Americans and eight players selected as All-Big Ten performers.

Athlon Sports predicts Ohio State will finish first in the Big Ten’s Leaders Division.

Two Ohio State standouts were named preseason All-Americans. Center Michael Brewster made the first team, while defensive lineman John Simon (Cardinal Mooney) was named to the second team.

Eight Buckeyes earned preseason All-Big Ten honors, including Brewster and Simon on the first team. Defensive lineman Nathan Williams was named to the second team, while offensive lineman J.B. Shugarts, linebacker Andrew Sweat, safety Tyler Moeller, kick returner Jaamal Berry and punt returner Jordan

Hall garnered third-team honors.

Davis honored

BEAVER FALLS, Pa.

Geneva freshman Ashley Davis (New Middleton) enjoyed one of the most productive freshman seasons for the Golden Tornadoes in recent history. Her two teams (nolleyball, softball) combined for a record of 53-18.

As an outside hitter for the volleyball team, Davis had 30 kills in 17 matches. On the softball field, she played a huge part in the success of the Golden Tornadoes in advancing to the NCCAA national tournament for the first time in five years.

Starting at first base in all 40 games (27-13), Davis hit .325 with 38 hits, 22 runs scored and 27 RBI while holding a .987 fielding percentage.

Staff report