Posts Tagged ‘rich pasquale’

Youngstown State University has parted ways with Rich Pasquale.  Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Ron Strollo, said that the Penguins will begin to search for a new mentor immediately.  Pasquale coached from 2008 until this season.

“I want to thank Coach Pasquale for his service to our department, the university, and the community in his five seasons as our head baseball coach,”said Strollo.  “We experienced several successes under his direction, and we are looking forward to experiencing many successes in the future.”

The Penguins went 86-187 in Pasquale’s five seasons as the skipper.  In 2012, they finished with an 11-44 mark but did manage to pull together for a third-place finish at the Horizon League Tournament.

“I appreciate the opportunity that Youngstown State gave me to coach at the Division I level,” said Pasquale.  “I was fortunate to coach and develop some great young men both on and off the field, and I thoroughly enjoyed who I worked with.”

Three YSU players were drafted to the Major League system under Pasquale’s tenure, including two in one year – a program first.  Seven players earned all-conference first team honors during the five seasons he coached.

Pasquale was the Horizon League’s Co-Coach of The Year in 2008 when the Penguins posted 23 wins and had a 13-12 record in league play, which were both his best marks over the span.

Behind a memorable performance by pitcher Blake Aquadro, the Youngstown State baseball team knocked off Wright State 5-4 to stay alive in the 2012 Horizon League Baseball Tournament at UIC’s Les Miller Field on Friday afternoon.

Aquadro allowed three runs in the first and a solo homer in the second, but the junior left-hander from Memphis, Tenn., put up all zeroes on the scoreboard the rest of the game. That allowed the Penguins to rally, and Jason Shirley’s RBI double in the sixth brought in Jeremy Banks with the eventual winning run.

Youngstown State advances to Saturday to play another elimination game against the loser of tonight’s winners’ bracket final between UIC and Valparaiso. First pitch of YSU’s game on Saturday is set for noon Eastern. Wright State’s season ends with a record of 37-21 while YSU is guaranteed to finish at least third in the tournament.

The Penguins, who were 9-42 overall during the regular season and 0-6 against Wright State, continued to be opportunistic with the new life that comes with the postseason. Today’s win was especially emotional because YSU lost three lopsided games to the Raiders in the regular season, including a 32-4 decision on April 5.

“For what we went through against Wright State, in particular earlier in the year, and to be able to have a game like this is great,” an emotional head coach Rich Pasquale said after the game. “We knew Blake would come through, and I’m just so excited for him and our players to come up big. That was a clutch performance by a big-time pitcher.”

Aquadro allowed just one earned run on 10 hits in 8 2-3 innings to earn his third win of the season and his second in as many tournaments. Nic Manuppelli came in to record the final out and record his first career save.

Banks finished 2-for-4, and Craig Goubeaux walked and scored twice. Four different Raiders had two hits.

Wright State got three runs on an RBI single by Garrett Gray and a two-out, two-run double by Zach Tanner in the first inning, and Jake Hibberd hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second to put the Raiders up 4-0.

The Penguins cut the margin to one with a three-run third in which they took advantage of some uncharacteristic miscues by the Raiders defense. Goubeaux drew a one-out walk, and Kevin Hix reached on a bloop single to shallow right that probably should have been caught. Phil Lipari then walked to load the bases, and two runs came in when Tanner threw wildly to first trying to turn a double play. Drew Dosch then singled in David Leon for the lone RBI hit of the inning.

The Penguins have now won at least two tournament games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since joining the Horizon League in 2002.

Butler scored four runs before recording an out in the first inning and stayed hot offensively all afternoon to defeat the Youngstown State baseball team 18-5 in the series finale on Sunday at Eastwood Field.  After the Penguins held the Bulldogs to one earned run on five hits Saturday, Butler’s offense erupted for 18 earned runs on 18 hits.

Bulldogs designated hitter Pat Gelwicks posted five hits, three runs and three RBIs, and Bob Akin also drove in three. Jason Shirley had three hits and scored twice, and Drew Dosch added two hits for the Penguins.

The first six Bulldog hitters reached base on three singles, two walks and a hit batsman, and that ended the day for YSU starter Pat Shedlock. All five runs in the first were charged to him.

The Penguins got the first two runners on in the bottom of the first, but a strikeout and caught stealing resulted in a double play. Marcus Heath singled in Shirley to make the score 5-1, but the Guins couldn’t put together a big inning to keep pace. YSU had the leadoff runner on in the second and sacrificed him to second and failed to score.

Butler hit three doubles and had a sacrifice fly in the third to go ahead 7-1, and Dosch drove in David Leon for an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning.

The Bulldogs added a run in the fourth to go up 8-2, and they scored six times in the sixth. Craig Goubeaux brought in Shirley on a sacrifice fly, and Dosch scored on an error in the eighth to make the score 14-4. Butler added four more runs to its total in the ninth, and Dosch singled in Jack Graham in the bottom half for the final tally.

Butler starter Mike Hernandez allowed one earned run on six hits in six innings to earn the win for Butler.

Youngstown State will play four road games next week, starting with a game at Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Over the past few years, the facilities have improved, some coaching changes have been made, and school spirit is as high as it has been in about twenty years.  Ron Strollo (above) is finally getting to see the benefits of his hard work.  The athletic director at Youngstown State had come under fire three years ago.  When Jon Heacock was failing, both basketball programs were declining, and all the other sports we had to have for scholarship and conference alignment purposes, no one was sure if Strollo could survive.

Not only has he survived, he has prospered.  The whole athletic community has prospered.

Ask Eric Wolford.  Wolford was appointed to be the savior of a football program that seemed to cater to individuals instead of team.  All Wolford has done in two years is put a program in place, recruited like it is his last day on Earth, surrounded himself with good coaches, and worked on good character and life skills tirelessly for his players.  The expectation on Wolford’s 2012 Penguins is to win.  With a victory over FCS Champion North Dakota State last season, expectations on the coming season are very high.

Perhaps no coach is more misunderstood than Jerry Slocum.  Recently completing his seventh season at the helm, the reserved, but opinionated, coach proved he can win. Strollo rewarded Slocum with a contract extension, and Slocum paid back when he put the best product of his tenure on the court last season.  Slocum is in the Top-10 list for wins of active coaches and knows the game of basketball.  People are sometimes critical of his personality, but no one should ever question his ability to coach.  Strollo made the right decision in rewarding Slocum a few more years as the program continues to move forward.

Bob Boldon probably couldn’t get the pen out of his pocket soon enough to sign a contract to coach women’s basketball at YSU.  It is a nice place to start, following a departed coach who went 0-30 the year before.  Boldon has had good success in installing a three-point shooting offense and is always preaching defense, he is a good choice, another feather in Strollo’s cap.

Rich Pasquale will endure some growing pains with his 2012 YSU baseball squad. Pasquale has a very young team with only two seniors and is another tireless recruiter.  Don’t be surprised to see this team in the hunt next season as they get their bearings and learn to play together.  Coach Campbell is at that point now with the Lady Penguins softball team.  These girls can flat out play.  He has pitching, he has hitting, and he is proving very proficient at managing both.

Recently, the Penguins hosted the Horizon League Indoor Track Meet.  The WATTS proved to be a terrific venue for the event and Strollo reflected on the feedback.

“The feedback has been positive.  Obviously there are a few things, as we will go through growing pains, that need fixed.  We will address those minor issues. Fortunately, we ran college and high school meets a month and a half prior to tune up for that event.”

The weekend of the Horizon Meet, there were also basketball home games and the swimming home finale.

“There is no question we don’t mind being busy if that is what it takes.”

Strollo has surrounded himself with outstanding personnel.  This department has evolved into a prototype of how a collegiate athletic department should be run.  The marketing and sports information departments have exemplified consistency, which can be tough with subpar products.  Fortunately, the products are ‘new and improved’ and will continue to draw bigger crowds.  Keep up the good work Ron Strollo, and thanks for what you have done so far.

Three UIC pitchers combined to hold the Youngstown State baseball team to five hits, and the Flames completed a three-game sweep of the Penguins with an 8-0 victory on Sunday at Les Miller Field.

Flames starter Charlie Weinberg allowed four hits and struck out six batters in seven innings, and Mike Schoolcraft and Tim Suminski both threw scoreless innings of relief. UIC’s pitchers also did not issue a walk or a hit batsman on the afternoon.

YSU starter Pat Shedlock had his first off outing in three weeks, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings. Four relievers combined to hold the Flames without an earned run over 4.2 innings. YSU had four errors that led to three unearned runs.

David Leon and Kevin Hix both had two hits for the Penguins, and YSU’s Drew Dosch was kept off base for the first time in 25 games, dating back to last season.

Ryan Boss was a single away from hitting for the cycle for UIC. The sophomore designated hitter was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Boss homered with two outs in the first to give UIC a 1-0 lead, and Jon Ryan scored on a two-out error in the second as the Flames built a two-run advantage. Boss and Alex De LaRosa then hit back-to-back RBI doubles, and Joe Betcher added a run-scoring single in the third to make the score 5-0. A sacrifice fly by Ryan Shober and an RBI triple from Boss in the fourth put the Flames up 7-0. UIC got an unearned run on a fielder’s choice ground out in the eighth for its final run.

YSU will play Akron in a home-and-home series during the upcoming week. The Penguins will host the Zips at Eastwood Field at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, and they’ll play at Canal Park in Akron on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Marcus Heath (above) tied the game with an RBI single in the ninth inning, and Jeremy Banks hit a walk-off RBI single in the 11th to lift the Youngstown State baseball team to a 4-3 win over Milwaukee on Sunday at Eastwood Field.

Heath drove in all three runs for YSU in the first nine innings, and Banks and Drew Dosch both had two-out hits in their final three at bats. Dosch finished 5-for-6 as he, Banks and Heath combined for 10 of YSU’s 12 hits in the second through fourth spots in the line-up. Both Heath and Banks were down 0-2 in the count with two outs in their tying and winning hits.

YSU got a solid start from Pat Shedlock, and the Penguins bullpen did not allow a run in five innings. Ryan Krokos threw a scoreless 11th inning to earn his first collegiate win, and Nic Manuppelli and Kevin McCulloh were also strong in relief.

Milwaukee’s bullpen, which did not allow a run in 4.2 innings in the first two games of the series, surrendered two runs to the Penguins in four innings.

Will Fadness put Milwaukee up 1-0 in the first when he brought in Michael Porcaro with a two-out single. Paul Hoenecke and Jonathan Capasso then had RBI doubles in the third for Milwaukee that gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead. After Capasso doubled with two outs, he went to third on a passed ball with two outs. He was then thrown out at the plate trying to score on a pitch that bounced away from YSU catcher Craig Goubeaux. Milwaukee only had one runner reach third base the rest of the game.

The Penguins scored two unearned runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jack Graham drew a one-out walk and went to second when Capasso dropped a tailing line drive in left field from Jason Shirley. First baseman Phil Striggow then couldn’t come up with a grounder from Drew Dosch, and the Penguins had the bases loaded with one out. Milwaukee starter Mike Schneider got Banks to line out to third on a check swing for the second out, but Heath hit a ground-rule double into the left-field bullpen to plate two runs on the first pitch of his at bat.

YSU left the bases loaded in the seventh, but the Guins got some two-out lightning from the heart of their order in the ninth. Milwaukee closer Jordan Guth got Jack Graham to pop out on the first pitch of his at bat and struck out Shirley on four pitches for two quick outs. Dosch and Banks extended the game with back-to-back singles, and Heath singled in Dosch on the eighth pitch of his at bat to tie the score at 3-3.

Manuppelli worked around a leadoff single and a two-out error in the 10th, and Krokos allowed a single and walk in the 11th before escaping. Just as in the ninth, Dosch got things going in the bottom of the 11th with a two-out single to left. He moved to second on a key wild pitch that forced the outfield to move in for a potential play at the plate, and Banks’s winner landed just past a diving Luke Meeter in deep right center.

Shedlock posted his third straight quality start, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five in six innings. Schneider did not allow an earned run on five hits in 6.2 innings, and Jake Long took the loss in allowing the run in the 11th.

Youngstown State will play its only scheduled game of the year at Cene Park on Tuesday against Notre Dame College. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

The Youngstown State baseball team stranded 11 runners and got hurt by errors and hit batsmen in a 5-4 loss to Milwaukee on Friday evning at Eastwood Field in YSU’s home and Horizon League opener.

Penguins pitchers beaned five Panther hitters, and three runs scored as a result. Milwaukee’s run in the seventh that broke a 4-4 tie scored after two errors, and the Panthers scored their five runs on just five hits.  Ten of YSU’s 13 hits came int the first four innings.

YSU catcher Craig Goubeaux nearly matched Milwaukee in the hits column himself. He was 4-for-4, and Drew Dosch added three hits.

Penguins starter Blake Aquadro hit three batters in the second inning, and Milwaukee scored twice to go ahead 2-0. Mark Strey came up with the only hit of the frame, but his two-out single to left plated both runs.

YSU matched Milwaukee with two runs in the bottom of the second on four hits. David Leon singled to start the inning and advanced to second on an error. Kevin Hix sacrificed him to third, and he scored on Goubeaux’s single. A Phil Lipari single and a bunt single by Dosch loaded the bases, and Goubeaux scored the tying run on Jason Shirley‘s fielder’s choice.

Jim Lundstrom hit a cue-shot double just inside the first base bag to start the third, and he scored on a Paul Hoenecke ground out to put Milwaukee up 3-2. The Penguins took the lead in the third with three hits, the final of which was a two-run single by Goubeaux.

The Penguins had runners at the corners with one out in the fourth and couldn’t score, and the Panthers tied the score in the top of the fifth. Jonathan Capasso was hit on a 1-2 pitch, and he scored on a Hoenecke double.

YSU was its own worst enemy in the seventh when Milwaukee scored the go-ahead run without recording a hit. Hoenecke reached on two-base error by Leon at second, and he went to third on a sacrifice bunt. With the infield in, Lipari moved to his left to stop a grounder and held Hoenecke at third, but the shortstop’s throw to first was wild, and Hoenecke came in to score the eventual winning run.

Goubeaux had a two-out single in the seventh, and that was YSU’s last hit. The Penguins went in order in each of the final two innings.

Kevin McCulloh suffered the loss fot the Penguins as he allowed the unearned run in the seventh. Aquadro allowed four runs on four hits in five innings in a no-decision. Eric Semmelhack earned the win for Milwaukee despite allowing four runs on 12 hits in six innings. Three Panther relievers combined to allow one hit in three shutout innings.

The Penguins and Panthers will play game two of their three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Norfolk State outscored the Youngstown State baseball team 7-1 in the final six innings to defeat the Penguins 10-4 on Tuesday at Marty L. Miller Field.  YSU led 3-1 after the top of the second despite having just two hits, and the Penguins’ bats managed six hits for the game.

The Penguins missed opportunities to take a sizable lead early. They had runners on second and third with nobody out in the first and managed just one run, and an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the second limited them to two runs.

David Leon and Craig Goubeaux both had two hits for YSU, whose top five batters in the line-up did not have a hit.

Jason Shirley and Drew Dosch walked to start the game and advanced on a wild pitch. Jeremy Banks brought in Shirley on a sacrifice fly, but two more flyouts kept YSU to just one run.

The Spartans also used two walks and a sacrifice fly to score in the bottom of the first, and both teams scored twice in the second. Singles from YSU’s Kevin Hix and Goubeaux and a walk to Phil Lipari loaded the bases with one out, and Norfolk State pitcher Horace Smith walked Shirley and Dosch to force in two runs. He then got Banks to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, and YSU got just one more run the rest of the contest.

Norfolk State’s two runs in the second also came without a hit. A sacrifice bunt followed two walks, and Justin Lee brought in a run with a ground out. Another walk ended starter Joey Gajda‘s afternoon, and the Spartans tied the score on a wild pitch from reliever Josh North.

Neither team scored in the third, but the Spartans scored three two-out runs in the fourth to take a lead they would not relinquish. Shane Hoggard hit a leadoff single and went to third on a wild pitch and sacrifice bunt. After North got a ground out to keep Hoggard on third, James Taylor put the Spartans up with an RBI single. Taylor then scored on a wild pitch, and Chris Warren scored on Ryan Montgomery‘s RBI single that put Norfolk State ahead 6-3.

Goubeaux doubled in Leon with two outs in the sixth to cut YSU’s deficit to 6-4, but that was the Penguins’ last hit until there were two outs in the ninth.

YSU will start a three-game series with Milwaukee on Friday at Eastwood Field. Friday’s game will be the Penguins’ 2012 home and Horizon League opener.

Youngstown State senior first baseman Jeremy Banks has been named the Horizon League Batter of the Week for the period of Feb. 27 to March 4, the conference office announced on March 6.

Banks, a native of Steubenville, Ohio, batted .462 and was named to the all-tournament team last week as YSU competed at the Austin Peay Riverview Inn Classic. Banks reached base seven times in YSU’s 16-15 loss in 10 innings to Iowa on Sunday. He hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth, recorded three singles and walked three times in the contest. He drove in a career-high six runs, and he scored three times. Banks also went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI against Austin Peay.

Banks currently leads the Horizon League in batting average (.463) and RBIs (15), and he is tied for the lead in home runs (2).

Valparaiso’s Tyler Deetjen was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week.

Banks and the Penguins will play three games at VMI this weekend.

Iowa scored the tying run in the ninth on a balk and got a pinch-hit RBI double with two outs in the 10th to defeat the Youngstown State baseball team in a slugfest, 16-15.

The Penguins led by five runs twice and by three through seven innings. Iowa scored four runs in the eighth to go up 14-13, and Jeremy Banks gave the Penguins a 15-14 lead with a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth. The Hawkeyes scored the tying run on a two-out balk when the umpire ruled that reliever Erik Okleson did not pause prior to his delivery, and the game-winner came when Taylor Zeutenhorst doubled in Chett Zeise with two outs in the 10th.

Banks had a monster day for the Penguins, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and six RBIs. He also drew three walks and reached base in all seven of his plate appearances. Drew Dosch was 5-for-7 with three RBIs and two runs, and Jack Graham also drove in two.

Ryan Rumpf had four hits, Jake Mangler scored four times and Zeise scored for times for the Hawkeyes.

Rumpf was also the winning pitcher as he came on to record the final two outs in the 10th. Okleson was charged with the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings.

YSU got single tallies in the first and second innings when Banks singled in Dosch in the first and Dosch brought in Phil Lipari in the second. The Guins then scored three runs on four hits and two errors in the third to go up 5-0. Kevin Hix and Dosch both had run-scoring infield hits, and Graham scored and reached on errors.

The Penguins returned the favor with two errors in the bottom of the third, which helped lead to two runs, and Rumpf tripled in Mangler in the fourth to make the score 5-3.  YSU then did all of its damage in the fifth after there were two outs as Craig Goubeaux singled in Jason Shirley and Graham doubled in Goubeaux and Banks to put YSU up 8-3.

Mangler doubled in three runs as part of a four-run fifth for the Hawkeyes, and they answered Banks’ bases-loaded walk with two more runs in the sixth to tie the score at 9-9.

The Penguins scored four two-out runs in the seventh to go up 13-9. Graham scored on Lipari’s fielder’s choice to break the tie, and Dosch singled in David Leon for the second run. Banks then put the Guins ahead by four with a two-run single to right that brought in Dosch and Lipari.

Iowa got an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 13-10, and the Hawkeyes took the lead with four runs in the eighth. The go-ahead run scored after a passed ball and a two-out error by Dosch at third.

Iowa reliever Nick Hibbing retired the first two Penguins in the ninth, but Shirley singled to left to keep the game alive. Banks then hit a 1-0 pitch over the right-field fence to put YSU up 15-14. In the bottom half, Okleson beaned Brand to start the inning, and he advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Brand went to third on a ground out, and he scored on the balk. Mike McQuillan followed with a single, but Okleson got Mangler to fly out to end the inning.

Hix walked and stole second with one out in the 10th for YSU, but back-to-back strikeouts left him stranded there. Zeise drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 10th, and he went to second on a sacrifice bunt that accounted for Iowa’s second out. Zeutenhorst then doubled in Zeise on a 2-0 pitch for the game winner.

YSU was looking for its first win over a current member of the Big Ten since 1996.

The Penguins will play a three-game series at VMI next weekend, starting on Friday at 5 p.m.