YSU baseball team hosts OSU tonight at Eastwood

Staff report

The Youngstown State baseball team will close out the home portion of its schedule tonight against Ohio State at Eastwood Field.

The Penguins (16-29) will host the Buckeyes (34-15) for the first time in school history.

The first pitch at set for 6 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live locally on MyYTV.

Tickets will be $8 at the park or in advance at the YSU Athletics Ticket Office or the Mahoning Valley Scrappers Box Office.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. The contest is being presented by McDonald’s Restaurants with support from WFMJ-TV 21 and WBCB.

Pitching Matchup

Sophomore left-hander Joe King (2-1, 3.46 ERA) will start for the Penguins, and he’ll be countered by Buckeyes right-hander Jacob Niggemeyer (4-0, 3.31).

King has made 18 appearances, including eight starts. He pitched seven shutout innings in the win at Valparaiso on Saturday.

YSU vs. THE Big Ten

This will be the fourth straight season that Youngstown State has played a team from the Big Ten. YSU played Iowa in 2012, Ohio State in 2013 and Penn State and Indiana last year. The game against the Hoosiers in 2014 was in the Bloomington Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

YSU has an all-time record of 4-24 against teams currently in the Big Ten. YSU is 2-12 against the Buckeyes, 2-6 against Penn State, 0-3 versus Iowa, 0-2 against Indiana and 0-1 against Michigan. YSU’s two wins against Ohio State were 15-12 on April 8, 1990, and 11-9 on April 10, 1996.

Tonight will be the first time that the Penguins have hosted a Big Ten opponent since hosting a doubleheader at Pemberton Park against Penn State on April 11, 1989.

Major Teams at Eastwood

While YSU is hosting Ohio State for the first time ever, the Penguins have hosted two other teams from power conferences at Eastwood Field.

Pittsburgh is an annual opponent at Eastwood Field, and YSU hosted West Virginia in 2013.

LOOKING AHEAD

YSU’s regular season will conclude this weekend with a three-game series at UIC. The Penguins have clinched the fifth seed in next week’s Horizon League Tournament, and the Flames are atop the conference standings by a half game. The series will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. Game two is at noon Friday and the finale is at 1 p.m. Saturday.