YSU roundup

baseball

UIC dominant in sweep at Eastwood Field

niles

The Youngstown State baseball team dropped a pair of Horizon League games on Friday afternoon to UIC at Eastwood Field, falling 23-2 in the opener and 6-2 in game two.

Zack Minney pitched a complete game in the nightcap and held the Flames to two hits over the final seven innings. All six of the Flames’ runs came in the second inning. He stepped up to eat innings after the Penguins used five pitchers in the opener while having another doubleheader coming on Saturday.

The sophomore right-hander allowed five of the eight hits against him in the top of the second inning, and four of the runs came after Mickey McDonald swung at a ball in the dirt for strike three but reached first on the wild pitch. The bases were empty, and there were two outs when McDonald prolonged the inning, and the next four Flames all reached. Corey Bohanek singled in two runs with the bases loaded to make the score 4-0, and Rob Calabrese followed with a two-run double.

After the second, Minney allowed a one-out single in the third and a bunt single in the seventh. The only other baserunner he permitted over the final seven innings was a hit batter to start the sixth.

Youngstown State’s only offense came in the bottom of the third. Web Charles reached on an error to start the inning, and he scored on Kyle Benyo’s single. Lorenzo Arcuri then singled in Lou Cardona two batters later for the Penguins’ other run.

UIC starter Reid Birlingmair allowed one earned run on six hits while striking out nine Penguins batters. He allowed back-to-back one-out singles in the seventh but was able to work out of the jam as Benyo fouled out and Charles was tagged out trying to advance to third on a ball in the dirt. UIC’s bullpen did not allow a baserunner in two innings.

In the opener, UIC did all of its scoring in four innings. The Flames scored five runs in both the second and fourth innings before scoring a dozen times in the seventh.

Youngstown State’s two runs came in the bottom of the seventh when Charles doubled home Shane Willoughby and Trey Bridis. UIC added a run on David Cronin’s solo homer in the top of the ninth.

YSU will host another doubleheader on Saturday against Milwaukee. First pitch of game one will be at noon, and the opener will be streamed live on the YSUsports YouTube channel.

men’s basketball

Naz Bohannon signs with Penguins

Naz Bohannon, an Associated Press All-Ohio First-Team selection, has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Youngstown State men’s basketball program, Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun announced on Thursday.

Bohannon, a 6-foot-6 forward from Lorain, Ohio, was named Lorain County’s Mr. Basketball after averaging 17 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and led Lorain High School to a 23-3 record and three straight Lake Erie League championships. He also shot 51 percent from the field for the Titans.

“Naz is a very versatile player and will play multiple positions for us,” Calhoun said. “He is a tremendous open-court player that really fits our system. Also being a highly-recruited football player, he brings a toughness and plays with a chip on his shoulder.

“I’ve said that we need to recruit inside-out and Naz being from Northeast Ohio is a good start to landing guys in our own backyard.”

Bohannon, the AP Northeast Lakes District Player of the Year, is Lorain’s all-time leading scorer with 1,345 career points and grabbed 863 career rebounds. He also set a single-game record with 11 assists against Amherst in 2016. He led Lorain to a 69-8 mark in three seasons, including a regional semifinal appearance.

Bohannon chose YSU over Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Kent State, Stony Brook, the United States Military Academy, Brown, New Mexico and Indiana State.

YSU hosting women’s basketball camps

The Youngstown State women’s basketball program will host three individual camps and a team shootout this summer.

Penguins Head Coach John Barnes, his coaching staff and student-athletes from the team will serve as instructors at two elite camps for high-level high school players, an individual camp for youth and the team camp.

The sessions for the elite camps will be June 25 and Aug. 6, and they are for players who will be in grades 9-12 in the fall. It will be designed for players who want to showcase their skills and are looking to play at the collegiate level. The camp structure will be heavy on competition and scrimmaging with drills and station work also on the agenda. The cost for each session will be $80, or players can attend both for $150.

Questions regarding camps should be directed to Director of Operations Teonna Jewell at 330-397-5280 or tdjewell@ysu.edu. More information and online registration is available on penguinscamps.com.

Staff reports