Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown State University’

Youngstown State junior running back Jamaine Cook has been tabbed as one of the top 10 running backs in Division I (FCS) by the Sports Network.

Cook was named second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference and was selected as the team’s John Delseron MVP. He also rushed for 1,276 yards on 241 carries and scored 11 touchdown. For the season, he averaged 116.0 yards per game and 5.3 per carry.

Cook had six 100-yard rushing efforts highlighted by season-high 213-yard effort on 43 carries at Illinois State.

Craig Haley, FCS Executive Director for The Sports Network, wrote of Cook below:

Jamaine Cook, Youngstown State, Jr., 5-9, 195 – Penguins head coach Eric Wolford calls Cook the hardest worker on the team.  He rushed for 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns last season and the Penguins had a subparoffensive line.  He should be even better as the line matures this season. He spins out of tackles and often makes something out of nothing. He’s also an excellent pass catcher, with 25 receptions a year ago.  Against Illinois State, Cook had 311 all- purpose yards and three touchdowns.

Michigan State will kick off the 2011 football season against Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. EDT in Spartan Stadium. The 2011 season and home opener will be televised nationally by the Big Ten Network. Michigan State’s first-ever meeting against the Penguins was originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3.

It marks just the 10th night game in the 88-year history of Spartan Stadium.

“We’re extremely excited about this special opportunity to kick off the 2011 season with a nationally televised game against Youngstown State,” MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis said.  “Over the years, fans have expressed increased interest in kicking off our home football schedule with a Friday night game on Labor Day weekend. We believe it will be a positive experience for our entire fan base, including the student body, and we couldn’t pull something like this off without campus-wide cooperation.

“Since Michigan (K-12) schools don’t begin fall classes until after Labor Day, the vast majority of high school teams will play their football games on Thursday that week, making this a great way for our fans to kick off the holiday weekend. By moving the Youngstown State game to Friday night, it’s also our hope that the state tourism industry will receive a positive bump since most fans will now have the opportunity to make plans to enjoy the entire Labor Day weekend.”

“We applaud Michigan State’s decision to move its game and clear the Labor Day weekend to promote holiday travel in Pure Michigan,” Vice President for Travel Michigan George Zimmermann said. “Now, Michigan State fans will be able to enjoy both a great football game and a great Pure Michigan holiday weekend in our spectacular state.”

Jerry Slocum is a winner.  His record speaks for itself and he is one of just 17 active NCAA men’s basketball coaches to have reached the 600 win mark.  The 12th head coach in Youngstown State Men’s basketball history had a lot of success at Gannon and Geneva, which prompts his critics to point to school size and unknown opponents.  Slocum wears his heart on his sleeve and coaches with aggression and passion that would make Bobby Knight jealous.

I sat down to interview Slocum, and for a guy who takes so much criticism for his 17 second press conferences and cold personality, the 28 minutes he spent talking with me cannot be covered in a single story.  The interview will be broken into three parts.  Media Treatment, 2011-2012, and How Winning Affects Recruiting.

Paneech: First of all, congratulations on the marked improvement that the team showed this year.

Slocum: I appreciate that.  Obviously, I was excited about this class and I am very excited about our future here.  I thought that the improvement was more noticeable as the year went on.  Damian Eargle and Kendrick Perry got better.  Blake Allen and Ashen Ward got better.  As things moved along, all of our guys just got better as the year went on.  The thing that is obviously the most disheartening to me is that we are not winning enough games.  It is not acceptable, but in the same breath, the growth and competitiveness were both there.  I appreciate you saying that because I do take a lot of criticism.  I know that the criticism is a part of the job, it is what happens to coaches.

Paneech: Please expand on the growth you saw this season.

Slocum: When you beat the team that was in the final game played in college basketball this season, you lose to Valpo in overtime, you have a shot to tie or win the game against Detroit, you should have, could have, beaten Akron.  When you look at the entire body of work, you were extremely competitive, and it gives you hope for where you are going in the future.  I think with our new recruits combined with who we are getting back, we have good Horizon League talent.  Do I think we are the cream of the crop?  I don’t think so, not yet, but I think our guys can grow into that.

Paneech: You have the reputation for being someone who is really tough to handle at a post game interview.

Slocum: You can take your shots, and say the negative things that you want to say at me, but at least report the facts also.  Report the facts, for example, the questions being asked at the press conferences are things like, “Everyone thought you were going to get blown out by 20 tonight, are you happy that you didn’t get blown out?” or “Do you feel that this was a wasted effort tonight?”  Take your shots at me, that’s part of the job, but in the same breath, at least report the facts.  We had the best backcourt in the conference with the turnover to assist ratio, Damian Eargle averaged 15 points and almost ten rebounds a game while leading the conference in blocked shots.  Report the fact that this team is growing and improving.  They are losing games, but for the first time in probably ten years, you are looking at a core group of kids who are coming in from the bottom up as Freshmen and Sophomores who have a chance to be the best Division-I team put on the court here at Youngstown State.

Paneech: Even reporting the facts, there has to be some quote to describe them.

Slocum: My point is that I have been doing this for a really long time.  I thought I was being a professional by keeping my answers short and quiet and not exploding on a question, I would just be quick.  If you lose a game, for example, the Milwaukee game, why not say, “Coach, that was a great basketball game tonight, you hit a five minute stretch where you didn’t score, can you comment on that”.  That is the way a question should be asked by somebody who understands basketball.  My reaction would be, here is an intelligent question, and I would do all I could to answer it.  I have never, no matter how tough the losses have been, not answered a question put to me that was a well-phrased question.  When you sit down in there and your heart is broken, you have never lost in your career, and now all of a sudden you are into your sixth year of misery  because you can’t get this thing where you want it to be, it weighs on you every moment that you are awake, and you come so close… and the first thing you get is a guy saying to you, “Do you think tonight was a wasted effort”.  I have never said,  “this is the end of the press conference”, but there is silence.

Paneech: I have been there for some of those moments, and have seen silence.

Slocum: The reason why there is silence is because most of the people who criticize me do not have enough confidence that they can ask me a legitimate or intelligent basketball question.  Any media guy can say, “your back court was 5-19 and had nine turnovers, did you think that affected your chances to win tonight?”, and that is the most disappointing thing.  Some guys can’t even see the game to know the right question to ask, and then when they report on it, they can’t even report the facts.  How can you not write or report on the last month of the season with all of those big games we were in and how close we were.  Some reporters just don’t get it.  Their basketball IQ is not to the point where they can effectively ask a question.  Whether or not they are good people is not for me to judge.  I get paid to win basketball games, and I think we are on our way to doing that.  Have some knowledge of what you are reporting on instead of asking some of the most ridiculous questions I have ever heard.

Early next week, Part II, 2011-2012, will be up.

Sophomore Vicky Rumph was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Softball First-Team and junior Jordan Ingalls was a third-team selection, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced on Thursday.

Rumph is the first softball player in school history to earn first-team honors, and 2011 is the first time in school history more than one softball player received academic all-district laurels.

Rumph, a who carries a 4.0 grade-point average in exercise science, is batting .314 with three doubles, a triple, four home runs and 25 runs batted in this season.

In her career, Rumph owns a career average of .321 with 12 home runs, 51 runs batted in and 48 runs scored in 93 games.

Ingalls, who leads the team with a .376 batting average, carries a 3.59 grade-point average in physical education. This season, Ingalls leads the team with nine doubles, four doubles and 38 runs batted in, which is the third most in a single-season.

A career .346 hitter, Ingalls has played in 143 straight games and has belted 11 career home runs.

The last softball player to earn all-district honors was McKenzie Bedra, who made third-team in 2008. Kelly Murphy was the first softball player to garner academic all-district honors with a second-team selection in 2004.

The Youngstown State softball program will celebrate Senior Day as the Penguins host Green Bay in the 2011regular-season series finale, May 7-8, at McCune Park in Canfield, Ohio. The seniors will be honored prior to the 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, May 7.

The Guins will honor seniors Erin Gilmour, Kim Klonowski and Kristina Rendle prior to Saturday’s first game. Gilmour joined the program in 2010 and has served as one of the Guins’ top pinch-runners. Klonowski is a four-year letterwinner and ranks tied for third all-time with 18 career home runs. Rendle joined the Guins in 2009 and is batting a career-best .336 in 2011.

** Photo Courtesy of Ron Stevens.

You will not meet a more personable group than the Youngstown State University Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff. They are all very genuine, real, and fun people to talk with.  John Vogel, who handles the women’s basketball program from a sports information director position was gracious enough to tape the roundtable interview I got to conduct.  Topics discussed are the recruiting process, Brandi Brown being overlooked on postseason awards, and a fun segment where the coaches have to pinpoint what their peers like and dislike.

Big thanks to Mr. Vogel for not only creating this opportunity, but for also being very helpful with my requests.  Also, a million thanks to Coach Bob Boldon for being a guy who is always candid and approachable.  This was my first real conversation of any kind with the assistants.  Pictured above are John Cullen, Kate Schrader, and Tavares Jackson.  Not pictured but included in the video is Jen Theissen.

Just before this interview was conducted, these coaches were working with a few of the players on the last day of workouts until August.  To watch how they coach as a group was fun.  Coach Boldon is kind of an overseer and delegates authority for an assistant to watch a defender and another coach to monitor an offensive player.  The other assistants usually encourage the players working in the various drills.  The dedication of this staff is going to put bodies in seats over the next couple of years.

Also, a new piece of equipment was in use at practice.  As a player shoots a three-point shot, a three foot high box announces the arc, or highest point, that the ball hits on its way to the basket.  Coach Theissen explained that the machine would register different numbers based on factors such as a players size.  For example, Macey Nortey and  Tieara Jones are about a foot different in stature meaning their arc would be different.  Very nice piece of equipment!

Thanks again to all who participated!

Something weird happened earlier this afternoon.  As I looked up into the sky, I noticed a large bright yellow thing.  I know somewhere I have seen this object before, but not since last year.  Having bought a new vehicle in January, I am proud to say that just four months later, I gambled and drove with my window down.  The last time I attempted that, the value of my car took a hit from rain damage.

I’m not sure how to feel about this crappy weather.  A part of me wants to take up hunting, groundhog hunting.  Phil, if you are reading this, just stay in your hole next year, don’t even think about coming out.

The group of people I feel the worst for are the men and women who play baseball and softball at Youngstown State.  Actually, I feel bad for everyone trying to play baseball this Spring.  T-Ball participating children are in great danger.  They can play their first game real soon with just a couple of practices.  By the time they get the hang of it, it will be time to face live pitching.

Mother Nature has been dominant this season.  Her ERA is 0.00 in every league she has been a part of this year.  She may not be the most popular player on a baseball field, but what she says, goes, period.

Jordan Ingalls, a YSU Softball Player, earlier said, “You can’t pay attention to the weather.  It is equal for both teams to play in such unfavorable conditions.”  That interview was three weeks ago, and I think Jordan has played three games of a scheduled 13 since.

It’s an easy fix, Penguins fans.  We need to petition Dave Dravecky to donate a few bucks to his alma mater for a new domed facility.  Put it behind McDonald’s by the stadium.  Better yet, just build it and include the McDonald’s to eliminate the need to hire concession stand workers.  In the offseason, use the area for parking, indoor parking.  Sell special passes for twice as much.  With the little deck closed and students forced to park anywhere from the Covelli Centre to Federal Plaza, these parking passes will sell like hotcakes.

OK, so it was a slow sports day.

Phil Klein is tearing it up on the diamond for Youngstown State this season.  Klein has joined six other pitchers in YSU history to record 200 career strikeouts.  Just this season, Klein has been named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week, twice.  He is the Horizon League leader with 61 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings.  He has earned four of YSU’s eight wins on the year.  He struck out 13 batters against Toledo earlier in the season.  He is Phil Klein, and if you were a Major League Baseball Scout, you would already know that.  Klein will almost definitely get drafted and he has a very bright future in the sport of baseball.

Paneech: How much pressure is put on you to be a mentor to the younger guys trying to succeed as pitchers?

Klein: We have got so many young guys.  Really, we only have a couple of upperclassmen who are pitching on this team.  Things can go their way, but it isn’t consistent.  You wonder what is going through their head, not so much the physical or mechanical stuff, but rather the what if they pitch good, what is going through their heads?  We try to encourage them to think on an even-keel level to balance things out.  There are times when it looks like they get it.  Sometimes, these young guys will go out and have a really good outing, other times they get knocked around.  I can only tell them so much, they have to learn how to be consistent.

Paneech: Supposedly, 90% of your power comes from your legs.  How true is that to you?

Klein: I believe it.  In the offseason, I focus more on running than lifting.  If you don’t, you can put the ball over the plate and get hit around.  I like to think I can go for as long as I can because my legs stay fresh from the work I have put in.

Paneech: Consistency is the biggest thing with any pitcher.  You look at someone like Rick Ankiel.  He was thrown into a relief role to pitch in a postseason game and ends up missing badly with every single pitch.  How can a pitcher come unglued?

Klein: It all starts with the first batter of an inning.  If he gets on, it gets in your head.  Then he could steal, and it is further in your head.  It can snowball until you regain your focus.  By looking back at what happened, you give up a five or six run inning because the problems snowball in your own head.  It starts with the first batter of an inning and all builds one way or the other from there.

Paneech: Do you prefer pitching from the stretch or a full wind-up?

Klein: I have no problem with either one of them.  Last weekend, I was pitching out of the wind-up and my footing just felt wrong.  I went from the stretch with no one on base because I felt more comfortable that way.  It’s a feel thing, some people have a preference, but I am usually comfortable either way.

Paneech: You are blessed to have good coaches here.  Coach Pasquale eats and breathes YSU Baseball.  Talk about how these guys are to play for.

Klein: I talk to Coach Dan [Lipari] at least once a day.  He’s a young guy but he knows his stuff.  I can come at them with anything, and that’s the thing I like most.  I can talk to any of them about school, baseball, girls, anything at all and they will be there for me.

Paneech: Having so much success at this level, are the big boys making their presence felt yet?

Klein: I filled out some paperwork for a few teams and have had conversations with some scouts.  I am trying not to focus on that yet, but rather this team and this season.  Those people cannot do anything for me while I’m in college and that kind of got in my head last season – always wondering who was watching and what they thought.  It takes you out of the present, so I will worry about all that when the time comes.

Paneech: You look at Stephen Strasburg.  He is babied along by the Nationals and then when they kind of turn him loose, he gets badly injured.  Do you think him skipping this level was a mistake?

Klein: I don’t how much of Stephen’s problems came from mechanical things or if it was coaching.  I feel like it is a benefit to work your way up because you are pitching to a better type of hitter each time you progress to another level.

Paneech: What kind of a hitter are you?  If you get to the National League, you will have to bat.

Klein: (laughs)  I would like to think I am a good hitter.  I always tell the guys that if someone gets hurt, that I will go up there and take the three biggest swings you will ever see.  I might not hit it, but I will take three big swings.  If I played in the National League, I could always become a bunter.

Paneech: Lets talk Major League Baseball.  Who do you root for?   Who is your favorite player?

Klein: I am a big Boston Red Sox fan and Josh Beckett is my favorite player.  He struggled early, but he is back on track now and has recorded plenty of strikeouts while keeping his ERA down around 1.00.  His demeanor is even-keel and he is very intense.  I can’t stand the Yankees and two of my roommates are all about the Yankees.  It gets intense when they play each other and we throw our teams shirts on and have at it.  I don’t wish bodily harm on any Yankee players, but I do hope they make ten errors and the Red Sox score 20 runs.

Paneech: What would happen if the Yankees drafted you?

Klein: (long pause)  I’m going in there like it is any other team.  I wouldn’t ask for piles of memorabilia.  If I had to pitch against the Red Sox it would definitely be in the back of my mind that I grew up rooting for that team.  I would have to take the right approach and do my best for whoever it is I am pitching for regardless of who it is against.

Paneech: Who was the best starting pitcher of all-time?

Klein: I would have to say Pedro Martinez back in the day.  He was unreal.  I also think Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, and Roger Clemens were all the cream of the crop.  Those guys were so good for so many years.  These guys were good for 15 years.

Paneech: How are things going academically here for you at YSU?

Klein: I am a finance major.  I am having the toughest semester of my life right now.  I have two classes that I could spend all of my time on.  I don’t care for the accounting as much as the stock market.  The stock market is what I want to work with.  If baseball doesn’t work out, I want to go into investment banking.  They make good money.  I love it here though.  I get along with all of the guys on the team.  i don’t think I would be nearly as happy at an Ohio State where there are 50,000 people running around and there is nowhere to park.  I kind of like the size here.  I had a couple of really good classes last Fall.  I had Astronomy and Weather and really liked them.  You know what the things are but you don’t know how they work.  The worst class ever is one I have right now, it is a Financial Analysis class.  The teacher flies through everything and I don’t get it.  She might as well be speaking a foreign language.  I have no idea on some stuff in there and have been to the teachers office a few times asking for help, it is rough.

Paneech: OK, here is $10,000, how do I invest it right now?

Klein: (laughs)  I would throw a lot of it in Apple.  Steve Jobs is having some health problems, but they always have something new to give their stock a big boost when it needs one.  In three years they have returned 300% of what was invested.  They always step up.  I would spread it out though, and try to diversify your investment.

One Word Answers:

Favorite Fast Food Order: Taco Bell — Crunchwrap Supreme and Three Soft Tacos w/ Sour Cream.

Biggest Fear: Snakes.

Worst Habit: Being a Perfectionist.

Favorite Pitch: Slider.

Best Baseball Movie Ever: Bull Durham, hands down.

Favorite Gum: Eclipse Spearmint.

Favorite TV Show: Two And A Half Men.

Best Musician Out There: Jason Aldean.

Best Christmas program You Look Forward To Each Year? Christmas Vacation.

Best Player In Baseball Who Plays Somewhere Other Than Boston: Robinson Cano.

Ultimate vacation: Australia.

Tell me What You Think of Groundhog Day: It’s a waste of time… regardless of whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow it is going to be cold anyway.  Valentine’s Day is a worthless holiday too, and I have a girlfriend.

Remember when you were a kid and believed that March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb?  Inclement weather has dominated Spring 2011 thus far and Groundhog Day is turning into a bigger commercial farce than Sweetest Day.  The good news is that despite sloppy playing conditions, the 39th Annual Red-White game happened, and the play was anything but sloppy.

Both offense and defense took turns shining on both sides of the ball.  The White team raced out to a 17-0 lead and held on for a 24-14 victory.  Sophomore running back Allen Jones ran for 159 yards, but the real story is the White defense holding the Red offense, which is the first-team starting offense, to just 14 points.

Before the game started, Coach Eric Wolford ran over to the home sideline and started a comical rant.  Looking at me, he said, “It’s beautiful out here today, good day to get some sun.  I’m gonna work on my tan, should have brought my lotion.  Did you bring any I can use?”

The White team reached into their bag of tricks on the very first play of the game.  Torrian Pace took a pitch on an apparent sweep right.  Pace, doing a good job showing a run, threw the ball downfield to Pat White.  White had to come out of the end zone to catch the ball at the one as it was slightly under thrown.  On the next play, Pace tallied on a one-yard touchdown to put the White ahead, 7-0.

Patrick Angle hooked up with White (above) in the corner of the end zone on a ten yard corner route to put the White team ahead, 14-0.  A dropped pass in the end zone would force the White group to settle on a David Brown 25-yard field goal to jump the lead to 17-0.

Jamaine Cook put his Red team on the board when he powered in from two yards out for six points to cut the margin to 17-7.  Earlier in the drive, Cook ran 22 yards on a 4th-and-1.  Kurt Hess also contributed on the drive as he would find Andre Barboza on a 4th-and-6 for 22 more yards to get to the White’s two yard line.

With just under four minutes to go in the first half, Cook broke what looked to be a long run but was stripped of the ball by Josh Lee and Donald D’Alesio recovered the loose football to secure the 10-point lead to halftime.

On the second offensive play of the second half for the White team, Jones raced 94 yards to pay dirt, which would be the only points of the second half for the White.  The Red would later got the ball back and went into two-minute mode in a second half that featured a continuous clock.  Hess had a nice drive connecting with Barboza twice and David Rogers once before hitting Adaris Bellamy on a swing pass that would go 23 yards for a touchdown to cut the White lead to 24-14.

Hess (above) finished the game 11-19 for 139 yards and a touchdown.  His big target of the day was Barboza who hauled in four Hess aerials for 69 yards.  For the White, Pat White was the top receiver with five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Kyle Sirl had eight tackles, three for a loss, for the Red.  Sirl and Ethan Stark recorded a pair of sacks each.  Obinna Ekweremuba had seven tackles to lead the White team, with two of those stops resulting in yardage losses.

The honorary coaches stayed dry as they were sitting upstairs in the enclosed press boxes.  Chatting with Eric Ryan, Tim Ryan, and Harry Meshel before the game started was enjoyable.

Last year, with very favorable weather, the Red-White game was Wolford’s coming out party.  There was a good crowd and a festive atmosphere.  This year, the luster may not have been as bright, but there were still people in the stands.  Conversely, the level of football played last season at this time, was a group of guys trying to grasp a system.  This year, it was mostly returning players who knew the system trying not to get hurt on a sloppy field.  Should be a great season and Wolford has things where they need to be at this point, the conclusion of Spring Football.

Jordan Ingalls is enjoying playing softball, liking the college experience of Youngstown State, and keeping her dreams and her goals on different paths.  She has twice been named Horizon League Player of The Week already this year and has paced the team offensively as the most consistent Lady Penguin.  Ingalls, a junior, takes a respectable stance on family, academics, and her approach to a game she loves.  She was good to interview, commenting that the questions she answered were not what she would have expected, that it was a fun conversation that she enjoyed.  Likewise.

Paneech: Are you and Sarah Ingalls both from Bolivar, New York?  Are you cousins, sisters?

Ingalls: (laughs)  We are related distantly.  Her great, great, great grandfather and my great, great, great, great grandfather were brothers.  Those brothers were cousins of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s father, Charles.  I had no idea that Sarah and I were related until my freshman year.  They came out to McCune Park saying they were my distant relatives and e-mailed me.  That was crazy in itself, and the following year, she ended up being on the team.

Paneech: How did you get started with softball and have you always been an outfielder?

Ingalls: It’s kind of an interesting story.  My dad was always really into sports and I was the only girl in the house besides my mom, so we were all really into sports.  My dad used to take me to the high school games when I was young and I saw the pitchers.  Being left-handed, shortstop was kind of out, so I tried the whole pitching thing.  I pitched my entire life and when I came to YSU, I pitched and played the outfield.  It’s crazy how you end up in places you never thought you would end up.  I am a completely different athlete now then when I came in.

Paneech: Who  is your favorite Major League Baseball Team and player?

Ingalls: I would say the Pirates are my favorite team.  I really don’t have a favorite player, but I used to really like Jack Wilson.  I have always been a Pirates fan because of my dad, every year we are hoping that they can turn it around.

Paneech: Do performance enhancing drugs exist in women’s softball?

Ingalls: It’s hard for me to imagine that happening in this sport.  When I look at friends and players I know from their teams, from our team, I would think never in a thousand years.  If you look at the overall spectrum, you wonder, could someone be doing that?  You would like to think that there is no abuse in softball.  Optimistically, I don’t think so.

Paneech: What is your approach to hitting.  Do you look for a certain pitch or do you attack what you see?

Ingalls: Most of hitting for me is strictly mental.  When I came in as a freshman, I was very aggressive and wanted to hit.  I want to hit so bad that sometimes I chase a pitch that is not my pitch.  After last year, I really worked in the cage on hitting in pressure situations and with runners in scoring position.  When you look at a good hitter, you can’t just look at the batting average because getting the job done is not always the result of a base hit.  In a smaller spectrum, you don’t have to get a hit every single time.  You analyze the situation and do what has to be done.  If I think too much, chances are bad I can help the team.

Paneech: What would you think about moving baseball season to August and football season to March since the weather has changed so much and three quarters of your season is dictated by Mother Nature?

Ingalls: I’ve never heard that before.  I think when you are an athlete, you go out and you want to play.  I hate seeing a game get cancelled for anybody.  The weather can’t be changed and when you are freezing, it should not prevent you from winning a game.  You can’t think about it.  When we played Loyola earlier this year, it was freezing.  It’s a mental game,  you are cold, but so is everyone else.

Paneech: The football and basketball players at this university are Twitter maniacs.  Do you partake in Twitter or Facebook?

Ingalls: A lot of the players on the team have Twitter and some get into it more than others.  There are a couple of girls on the team that it is every two seconds they are Tweeting.  I have an account but hardly ever use it.  I check it for scores.

Paneech: Who is your best friend on the team and why?

Ingalls:  Kristina Rendle. I’m nervous for next year when she will not be here.  We came in together and we know everything about each other.  I have such a good friendship with her that it is hard to think about coming to practice and her not being there.  We are like a package deal – it’s always Joradan and Rendy, Jordan and Rendy.  We help each other to get better by pitching to each other, we run at the exact same speed, she will push me and be honest with me.  She’s a great person to be with on or off of the field.

Paneech: What other sports did you play besides softball?

Ingalls: I played golf, my dad is a really good golfer, and I still play today and probably will for the rest of my life.  That will be the first sport that my kids play.  I love basketball, played soccer, and participated in track and field when I was younger.  I went to a really small school so anything you could get your hands on was fun, there just wasn’t much else to do.

Paneech: How is the school part going here?  Have you chosen a major yet?

Ingalls: I’m studying physical education to teach and have wanted to do that since kindergarten.  People come here and change their major four times and I don’t need to worry because I know what I want to do.  I substitute teach in New York because you can while you are going to school for it.  It doesn’t get old and I enjoy going to the classes.  The worst class I took here was weather with Buckler.  It was awful.  I was a freshman still learning how to study.  I had to learn what the temperature was in Arkansas if a low pressure system was moving North.  It was a nightmare, and I got a C in it.

One Word Answers

Favorite Hat: I wear a visor.

Typical Fast Food Order: Jimmy John’s #11 Country Club with barbecued chips and Diet Coke.

Biggest Phobia: Snakes.

Favorite TV Show: Criminal Minds.

Worst Habit: Chewing my gum too loud.

Best Baseball Movie Ever: Fever Pitch.

Dream Vacation: Ireland.

Favorite Musician: Lil Wayne.

Toppings on A Pizza: Whatever anyone wants, I like everything.

Favorite Holiday: Christmas Eve.

Special thanks to Ron Stevens for the photographs. The weather that Jordan doesn’t mind kept me away, but Ron had a few he let me use!

Youngstown State senior baseball player Phil Klein has been named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 10, the league office announced on Monday.

Klein (Gahanna, Ohio) pitched seven strong innings against Butler on Saturday to win his fourth consecutive start. He held the Bulldogs to four singles and three walks while striking out 10 batters. He allowed just one unearned run after Butler had 15 runs and 18 hits the previous night.

He retired the first nine batters he faced and struck out two batters in three of the first four innings. A passed ball assisted with Butler’s run in the fourth, and Klein worked out of a first-and-third jam with one out in the seventh to help YSU keep a 2-1 lead. He got batter Zach Sizemore to miss on a squeeze and start a rundown, and he struck Sizemore out looking to end the inning.

Over his last five starts, Klein has a 1.32 ERA in 34 innings. He has allowed just five earned runs and struck out 40 batters. Klein leads the Horizon League with 54 strikeouts in 46.2 innings.

Klein was also recognized as the League’s Pitcher of the Week on March 21.

Klein and the Penguins have a busy week ahead with five games in five days. YSU plays at Kent State on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and hosts the Golden Flashes at Eastwood Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Penguins will start a three-game series at Valparaiso on Friday.