YSU ROUNDUP Saturday’s results
TRACK AND FIELD
Conner Neu wins hammer throw at Jesse Owens Track and Field Classic
COLUMBUS
Senior Conner Neu led the Youngstown State track and field team at the Jesse Owens Track and Field Classic, as he took first in the hammer throw on Saturday afternoon.
Neu placed first with a toss of 69.70 meters.
In the 100-meter dash, Leighton Antonio placed sixth with a time of 10.53 seconds. Ryan Sullivan took 10th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:54.75. In the steeplechase, Jon Hutnyan ran a time of 9:28.30 to take 11th place.
In the high jump, Jay Jakovina finished fourth with a jump of 2.08 meters and Arnaldo Morales came in fifth to clear a height of 2.08 meters.
Ryan Booth took first in the shot put with a toss of 17.05 meters.
For the 400-meter dash, Jen Shiley came in seventh with a time of 1:01.77 and Taylor McDonald took 10th to clock a time of 1:02.23.
The Penguins are next in action at the Penn Relays and Ashland Alumni Open on April 29-30.
MEN’s golf
Penguins, Sveda in fourth place in Horizon League Championship
Howie-in-the-hills, FLA.
The YSU men’s golf team is in fourth place after the second round on Saturday at the Horizon League Championships at the Mission Inn Resort. Junior Steven Sveda is in fourth place in the individual standings.
The Penguins carded a second-round score of 303, a five stroke improvement from their first round 308 on Friday. YSU’s total of 611 leaves it in fourth place behind Cleveland State (582), Oakland (589) and Wright State (602).
Sveda had his second straight even-par round of 72 on Saturday and has a 144 through 36 holes. He opened the day with a birdie four at the par-5 first before recording 16 consecutive pars. His round ended with a bogey five at the par-4 18th.
The final round is today.
WOMENS golf
Low round pushes YSU to third place at Horizon League Championships
Howie-in-the-hills, FLA.
The Youngstown State women’s golf team tied for the lowest round of the day surging to third in the overall standings at the Horizon League Championships on Saturday at the Mission Inn Resort.
The Penguins fired a 311 on Saturday, a 19-stroke improvement from Friday, and tied Oakland for the lowest round of day two. YSU is third with a 641 while Oakland leads with a 622 and Northern Kentucky is second with a 627. The Penguins are one shot ahead of Cleveland State who is fourth with a 642.
Senior and defending HL Champion Emily Dixon is in second place following 36 holes of play. Dixon shot a 76 on Saturday and has two-round total of 151.
On Saturday, Dixon had 12 pars, five bogeys and a birdie for her 76. She had a two on the par 3 sixth hole.
The final round is today.
SOFTBALL
Taylor homers twice as Penguins split doubleheader against Phoenix
GREEN BAY, WIS.
Stevie Taylor homered in both games of a doubleheader Saturday as YSU split two games with Horizon League rival Green Bay.
Taylor and Miranda Castiglione each hit home runs in the opener, but the Penguins were unable to hold onto an early 4-0 lead and eventually lost, 10-9. Taylor also doubled and she and Castiglione each drove in three runs.
Taylor and Sarah Dowd hit home runs to spark a 20-hit attack in the nightcap as YSU won, 17-8, in six innings. Taylor also reached base four times on walks and scored four runs. Brittney Moffatt had four hits and Katie Smallcomb and Alexandria Gibson each had three for the Penguins (23-17, 10-6).
BASEBALL
Penguins’ Joe King goes the distance in doubleheader split with Oakland
NILES
Youngstown State and Oakland each got outstanding pitching in one game of a doubleheader as YSU won game one 7-2 and Oakland prevailed in game two 9-1.
Joe King carried the Penguins to victory in the opener by pitching the first complete game of his career. He allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out two batters. Oakland used five pitchers in the nightcap, and YSU did not get its first hit until there was one out in the eighth inning.
King got three runs of support in the bottom of the first inning, which was all he needed for the entire game. Andrew Kendrick hit a two-out double, and Gerrad Rohan followed with an RBI single to give YSU a 1-0 advantage. Rohan then scored on Trey Bridis’ double, and Billy Salem plated Bridis with a single.
YSU went ahead 4-0 in the third inning when Alex Larivee singled and scored on another RBI single by Rohan. He and Bridis both had a pair of hits and three RBIs to lead YSU’s offense in the opener.
In the nightcap, Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when a leadoff walk came around to score on a fielder’s choice.
That’s what the score remained until the sixth inning when Oakland scored four times.
MEN’S TENNIS
Mekawi wins singles match at Valparaiso
VALPARAISO, IND.
The Youngstown State men’s tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to Valparaiso on Saturday at the Valpo Tennis Complex. Bassem El Mekawi picked up a singles win for YSU.
The win clinched at least a share of the Horizon League regular-season title for the Crusaders who improved to 19-5 overall and 5-0 in the conference. YSU falls to 6-13 and 2-2.
Valparaiso earned the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
In singles play, Mekawi defeated Garrett Gardner (Poland) 2-6, 6-2, 10-4 at No. 5 singles.
The Penguins conclude the regular season on Sunday at UIC.
Staff reports