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Gunther returning to Youngstown with Wright State
By CHARLES GROVE
Former Ursuline standout Macey Gunther is returning to the Mahoning Valley this weekend, but she’ll do so wearing the colors of the Wright Sate softball team.
The Raiders will meet Youngstown State today and Saturday at the YSU Softball Complex.
The Raiders (23-15, 8-1 Horizon League) come into town with an intimidating array of stats. WSU is first in the league in batting average, RBIs, runs scored and hits. Not to mention and second-lowest number of strikeouts and the second-best earned run average as well.
Gunther, a sophomore at Wright State, is a big part of those daunting statistics.
After starting 31 games as a freshman, Gunther has improved her batting average so far this year by 40 points and is hitting .297 for a WSU team looking to come in and spoil a home series for YSU (18-13, 5-2 HL).
“The season’s going well,” Gunther said. “We’re hitting well, moving runners over and we have a very strong team chemistry. I think that chemistry is the biggest reason for our success.”
Wright State swept a series from YSU at home last year beating the Penguins 9-1, 5-0 and 8-7.
Gunther, a Newton Falls native and All-Ohio honorable-mention selection as a senior for the Fighting Irish, began sending off tapes to schools her sophomore year and by the next year was touring the suburban Dayton campus.
“It felt like a really good fit,” Gunther said. “I really like the coaches, the teammates and the campus. There’s an underground tunnel system that connects all the buildings which is really nice when it’s cold or snowy.”
In addition to the shelter from the weather between classes, Gunther said the facilities are Wright State helped make her decision a little easier.
“The Pavilion all the athletic teams share is super nice,” Gunther said. “It just got re-done and there’s lots of new stuff in there.”
All that, plus a desire to spend her college days a few hours from her Mahoning Valley home, meant Gunther had to turn away the looks YSU gave her during high school.
“YSU [recruited me],” Gunther said. “But it was just too close to home. I wanted be able to go a couple hours away for college.”
Gunther’s impressive play, which has included three home runs and nine stolen bases, both second on the team, has earned her accolades welcome to any college student — t-shirts.
Wright State’s athletic director, Bob Grant, tweets out every WSU victory with the hashtag “#UhYeah” and occasionally will do the same for strong individual performances. If an individual gets a tweet, they can stop by the athletic department and get a #UhYeah t-shirt. Gunther has two already and also has been named Horizon League Player of the Week twice .
“This has really caught on around our community,” Grant told the NCAA in an interview. “It’s something that has turned into something fun and competitive for our student-athletes.”
Gunther is a criminal justice major and while she isn’t 100 percent sure what avenue she’ll pursue in a few years, she has a couple ideas.
“I might follow my dad and become a probation officre like he is,” Gunther said. “But I might try to work with juvenile delinquents as well. I’m just not sure yet.”
The first-base bleachers could be filled with green and gold at the YSU softball complex this weekend as friends and family will get a glimpse of Gunther’s Raiders.
“It’ll be nice to be home,” Gunther said. “It was my home field where I played high school ball and I think a lot of my friends and family are going to be there. I’m excited.”
YSU takes on WSU at 3 p.m. today before a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday.