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1456

YSU Penguin Athletics / Scalzo: Ice Castle becomes White Castle

« on: March 31, 2011, 06:35:45 AM »

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

YSU sophomore Adaris Bellamy first saw snow last semester and the Florida native often grabbed his roommates from Arizona and California to have impromptu snowball fights.

Then he went home from Christmas.

“When I came back I got tired of it,” he said.

He spent part of Wednesday’s practice complaining that he couldn’t run drills because his legs were frozen.

Defensive coordinator Rick Kravitz, also a Florida native, spent his whole career coaching in the south until taking a job at Western Michigan a few years ago.

“The first time I ever went in the snow, I almost fell three times,” he said.

He spent part of Wednesday’s practice complaining that his hands were frozen. Oh, and he nearly fell, too.

Finally, at 5:40 p.m., Penguins coach Eric Wolford decided he’d seen enough and ended practice about 40 minutes early. As he walked toward the tunnel near the south end zone, the WATTS — the indoor facility that was originally scheduled to open in late 2010, a date that has now been pushed back to June — stood in plain sight, mocking him.

“That thing’s looking at me right now,” Wolford said, grinning.

After getting terrific weather for his first spring at YSU, Wolford hasn’t been so lucky this year. He was greeted Wednesday with a snow blanket that covered up the yardage lines — sophomore running back Jordan Thompson used his shoe to create boundaries — and had some offensive linemen wearing (gasp!) long sleeves.

The conditions provided the extra mayonnaise for the turkeyburger Wolford’s team has been enduring, weather-wise, over the first five practices.

“Last year we had good weather, so maybe if you have bad weather in the spring, it’ll be a better outcome,” said Wolford, whose team went 3-8 last fall. “It’s part of being in northeast Ohio. You’ve got to play in the elements.”

Bellamy and Kravitz are both from the Tampa/St. Petersburg area — which had a high in the 70s with a thunderstorm warning Wednesday, in case you’re wondering — and the Penguins have 10 Florida natives on the roster. They also have two from California and one each from Arizona, Georgia and Virginia.

“I don’t think too many guys have played in anything like that,” Bellamy said. “Maybe pickup games, but not an actual game or a scrimmage.

“You can’t do what you really want to do. You can’t make the right cut and the right read. Really, it’s all footing and ball control.”

The Penguins spent a lot of time on running plays during the nearly two-hour session — the ones involving 225-pound running back Torrian Pace were particularly fun — and Wolford was disappointed that the Penguins committed so many turnovers, particularly fumbles.

“Those are things we feel like we should be able to control,” he said.

Still, Wolford said the conditions gave the Penguins a taste of December football.

“If we go where we want to go, we’re probably going to have to play in one of these games,” Wolford said. “It’s just good to get in some work in a not-perfect setting and see who responds and who doesn’t.

“We’ve got to find out who can play in weather. Who can throw in it, who can catch it and who can take care of the ball.”

1457

YSU Penguin Athletics / Scalzo: Mady making his way

« on: March 30, 2011, 02:07:06 PM »

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

YSU junior tackle Lamar Mady walked into his offensive line meetings on Monday afternoon and was immediately hit with a “ruby red slippers” joke by his position coach, Carmen Bricillo.

Then, when Mady mentioned something about his junior college, Bricillo said, “We’re a long way from Kansas now.”

Mady is 6-foot-4 and weighs 315 pounds, which only seems to make him a big target. Because Mady, you see, is from Kansas. And when you’re the only person from Kansas inside a college football locker room, you better be prepared to hear A LOT of “Wizard of Oz” jokes.

“Oh, I get it all the time,” said Mady, who enrolled at YSU in January after playing two seasons at Butler County Community College. “As long as I’ve been here, I hear at least one every other day, if not every day.

“I just laugh about it. It’s funny.”

Mady played tackle as a college freshman and is filling in at tackle for the Penguins while D.J. Main rehabs a broken foot. But there’s no place like your home position, which, for Mady, is guard. Once Main returns, Mady expects to slide over one spot.

“I like being inside,” he said. “I like the physical contact part of it.

“Right now, we’re a little [thin] on the O-line so I’m just trying to help out as best I can.”

Mady admits the transition to YSU has been bumpy at times. He’s had to adjust to a new position at a new school in a new place. That means a jump in terminology — the plays are longer and the offense more complicated — and in speed. Add in schoolwork and crummy weather and it’s easy to see why he’s had good and bad moments so far.

“At the beginning, it was all very overwhelming,” he said. “I didn’t know how to take it at first and I had to sit myself down and figure it out.

“I was just like, ‘All right, I’m here now. I need to learn how to get everything done.’ The transition has been pretty good so far and it should get better as time goes on.”

Although Kansas is known as a farming state, Mady is no stranger to cities. He grew up in Omaha, Neb., before moving to Kansas’ state capital, Topeka, in sixth grade.

“Kansas is a little more flat and a little dustier [than Ohio],” he said. “But I grew up in more of an urban base, so everything that’s here I’ve seen in Kansas.

“People think Kansas is a wasteland sometimes.”

YSU’s coaches have been impressed with how quickly Mady has adjusted, both on and off the field. For that, you can credit 6 a.m. workouts and trips to Chipotle.

“I’m real tight with the O-linemen; I don’t have any issues with them,” Mady said. “By the time the season comes, we’ll be real good.”

1458

YSU Penguin Athletics / Baseball Slump

« on: March 30, 2011, 12:00:54 PM »

Guys. We just lost to an NAIA team. Granted my cousin and my barber's son both played ball for Walsh, a very nice program ...but should not be enough to beat us. I was a "little" worried ...now I am "quite" worried. I know we are young, but even the experienced people on the mound are not able to get any run support to open up their game. Every time I watch we are "pitching for singles". Our field play has improved greatly in the first half of the season, and I was hoping that game-3 win over WSU would ignite a spark in these guys.

1459

YSU Penguin Athletics / Returning YSU tackle leads way on field, in chow line

« on: March 29, 2011, 06:44:33 AM »

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

At 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, Youngstown State junior tackle Andrew Radakovich is one of the Penguins’ two biggest players and his family’s fourth-biggest male.

His older brother Adam is 7 feet tall. His other brother, former YSU football/basketball player Brian Radakovich, is 6-7. So is his dad, Robert.

Being that big isn’t a good thing if you’re trying to take a dorm room shower (the nozzle is too low) or squeeze your frame into an airplane seat, but it’s terrific if you want to go to college for free.

Plus, you can eat whatever you want.

“If I didn’t have a high metabolism, I’d probably weigh 500 pounds with how much I eat,” Radakovich said. “My food bills in a month are pretty ridiculous. I feel bad for my parents.”

The Steubenville native just finished his second year as YSU’s starting left tackle and enters this spring as the most experienced lineman on a unit that lost three senior starters: guards Bobby Coates and Eric Rodemoyer and center Justin Rechichar. All three started every game, as did Radakovich.

Radakovich has tried to make sure the younger linemen around him first understand the game mentally.

“When you understand the game mentally, you can play faster and more physical because you don’t have to worry about overthinking everything,” he said.

He’s impressed Penguins coach Eric Wolford with his approach and his performance.

“I like way Radakovich is coming to work every day,” Wolford said. “It seems like he’s taking the next step.”

Wolford is also high on junior college transfers Mark Pratt (center) and Lamar Mady (right tackle). They’ve been working with the first team and Radakovich said they’ve picked up the team’s scheme faster than anyone expected.

“It’s weird, but they fit right in and we didn’t miss a beat,” Radakovich said. “We’re really starting to congeal and get better as a line.”

Congeal?

“Yeah, I’m smart, too,” he said, laughing.

Last year’s starting right tackle, D.J. Main, is still rehabbing a broken foot that caused him to miss the team’s final four games. (Main is also 6-6, but weighs “just” 300 pounds.)

His injury opened up a spot last fall then-freshman Chris Elkins, who should man one of the guard positions.

There are a host of younger players, including former Mooney All-Ohioan Zach Larson, trying to break into the lineup. Wolford thinks several of them might need more time to develop.

“Normally with offensive linemen, it’s a two-year process,” Wolford said. “I’m on those guys all the time.

“If we get our offensive line around here squared away, I think we’ve got a chance to be special,” Wolford said. “I think we all know what we’ve got behind them.”

After two days in helmets and shorts, the Penguins put on the pads for the first time Saturday, which is actually much safer for the linemen, Radakovich said.

“When we just have helmets on, it’s still full go for us,” he said. “It’s just shoulder injuries waiting to happen, so when we get the pads on, we’re happy.

“It just feels good to hit people again. It’s such a big stress reliever. I finally get to put people on their back. That’s my favorite thing to do.”

1460

YSU Penguin Athletics / Drew Dosch Named Horizon League Batter of the Week

« on: March 29, 2011, 06:35:58 AM »

Drew Dosch Named Horizon League Batter of the Week

Youngstown -- Youngstown State freshman baseball player Drew Dosch has been named the Horizon League Batter of the Week for the period March 21-27, the conference announced on Monday.

Dosch, a freshman from Canal Winchester, Ohio, earned the honor for the first time in his young career.

The Penguins' infielder hit .615 for the week, going 8-for-13 in a three-game series at Wright State. He had hits in all three contests and went a combined 7-for-9 in Saturday's doubleheader. Dosch also drove in three runs, scored once and stole a base.

Dosch has a hit in 12 of his last 14 games and is hitting a team-best .301.

Dosch and the Penguins will be busy with five games this week. They play Walsh at Cene Park on Tuesday, Niagara at Eastwood Field on Wednesday and a three-game series at Le Moyne over the weekend.

1461

YSU Penguin Athletics / Trib: Newton Falls product bulking up for YSU

« on: March 28, 2011, 09:35:42 AM »

By MIKE McLAIN Tribune Chronicle

YOUNGSTOWN - The problem Stephen Page has had to deal with wouldn't seem like a big deal to most people.

In fact, it might seem like a pleasant problem.

Page, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman for the Youngstown State University Penguins, needed to gain weight if he had plans to become a starter. That meant a lot of eating to increase his weight from 230 pounds to 280.

"Just eating everything I see," Page said after the Penguins concluded a spring practice Friday evening.

Page, a Newton?Falls graduate, was recruited to play on the defensive line, but he was switched to the offensive line about one week into training camp last year. He is now working at right guard with the Penguins' second team.

Page isn't discounting his chances to earn a starting job.

Three linemen graduated from last season's team, but two spots are expected to be filled by junior college transfers Mark Pratt at center and Lamar Mady at right tackle.

"If I can get my weight up, I think I have a possibility of at least getting some playing time," said Page, who wants to weigh 295 by the start of the season. "I've put on a lot of muscle. It's not just all fat. Eating the right way and lifting right and training. It all comes into play."

As a former offensive lineman, Wolford is known for demanding a lot from the big guys up front. While the Penguins need more upgrades on the defensive side of the ball, Wolford isn't about to forget about getting improvement from the offensive line.

"I'm on those guys all the time," Wolford said. "If we get our offensive line squared away around here, I think we have a chance to be special because we all know what we have behind them."

Page was able to practice last season as a redshirt, which gave him an opportunity to see the intensity Wolford puts into his work with the offensive line.

"He's basically a second offensive line coach," Page said. "He'll tell us what we're doing wrong. He knows his stuff."

Sitting out one season is never easy for a redshirt player. They go through high school being quality starter to standing on the sideline in street clothes the next year.

"It was tough because in high school there wasn't a single year when I didn't play," Page said. "It was rough knowing that you were just there to practice. I was still there supporting my team."

Wolford probably has a good idea how the line competition will develop. Andrew Radakovich seems set at left tackle. Pratt and Mady appear to be in good situations. Andy Colegrove could start at left guard after moving inside from tight end, and Chris Elkins has a shot to start at right guard.

Page needs to continue to get bigger and perform well in training camp to get the playing time he wants.

"Page has done a great job of putting weight on," Wolford said. "He's running in there with the second team. He's been a little inconsistent. Sometimes he looks good, and sometimes he locks up a little bit. Normally with offensive linemen it's a two-year process. This is his first spring. We have some time to keep developing him."

That's why Page will continue in his attempt to add more weight.

"The biggest thing is size," Page said. "The stronger you are, the better you are. Technique comes into a lot of it. That's why we're out here right now preparing for next season. Hopefully I can make my way into the starting lineup by the fall."

mmclain@tribtoday.com

1462

YSU Penguin Athletics / Today's YSU Results

« on: March 26, 2011, 07:12:59 PM »

Well the Softball team had a taste of reality today ...lost both sides of a double-header to Loyola. On a brighter note, the Guin hard-ballers split a pair with Wright State.

1463

YSU Penguin Athletics / Spring Football Video: Junior Offensive Tackle Andrew Radakovich

« on: March 26, 2011, 03:10:36 PM »

Junior Offensive Tackle Andrew Radakovich Post Practice Comments | March 26

1464

YSU Penguin Athletics / YSU center Mark Pratt adjusting to new level in new city

« on: March 26, 2011, 11:48:35 AM »

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Mark Pratt spent two years playing football at a junior college in Utah where, he said, “there’s more turkeys and sheep than people.”

In between, he spent two years working as a Mormon missionary to Birmingham, Ala., where he spent all day knocking on doors in Hispanic neighborhoods. He was allowed to write home on Wednesdays (handwritten letters or e-mails) and call home twice a year (Christmas and Mother’s Day).

“It’s a real strict, strict schedule,” said Pratt, who is fluent in Spanish. “The church picks where you go and you don’t really have a say. They send you to a place in Provo to teach you how to speak. After you learn the basics, they just kind of throw you out there.”

The 22-year-old Pratt is now a junior center in his first spring with the YSU football team, utilizing the toughness that comes from being the youngest of six brothers (“They’re all smaller than me now,” he said, laughing) with the discipline that comes from obeying orders from your superiors (both natural and supernatural).

It’s helped him make a smooth transition to a city heavy on Italians and light on, say, sheep and Mormons.

“It’s been great so far,” he said. “I really like the team and the O-line has accepted me and the other junior college kids really quick.

“It’s just a real tight-knit group.”

Pratt (6-foot-3, 330) is penciled in as the starter for a Penguins offensive line trying to replace four seniors, three of them starters. At Snow Junior College, he was an all-conference selection for a team that went 10-2 and finished seventh in the country.

His first YSU practice was Wednesday and, while he struggled with his shotgun snaps, he feels confident he can quickly make the transition to FCS football.

“I think the biggest thing is going to be the speed,” said Pratt, whose quarterback mostly stayed under center in junior college. “Every level you go up, the speed changes. I know high school to junior college was a big difference and I can already tell right now, just from the first practice, that the speed’s picked up quite a bit.

“I’ll adjust to it and get in the groove.”

Pratt is one of two junior college transfers on YSU’s offensive line — junior tackle Lamar Mady is the other — and is at a little bit of a disadvantage compared to the rest of YSU’s linemen, who already have a year’s worth of experience working with line coach Carmen Bricillo.

“They know the teaching methods that Coach Carm has and they pulled me aside a few times and said, ‘Hey, you need to do this a little better,’” Pratt said. “They can explain things a little better than Coach Carm does.

“He does a great job, but they kind of put it in simpler terms.”

There are other adjustments, but Pratt hasn’t had much problem with the schoolwork (he’s majoring in international business), the media (“I think I got interviewed twice in Utah, so this is a little different,” he said to a group of five reporters after Wednesday’s practice) and the weather.

“This is perfect,” he said. “When it’s 50 degrees, we wear shorts back home.”

He even looks the part of a lineman, with a full beard (that doesn’t seem to have been groomed in weeks), a quick laugh (linemen are often the best interviews on any football team) and the highest listed weight of anyone on YSU’s roster.

“I gained some weight over the break,” he said. “I have to lose a few pounds.”

YSU head coach Eric Wolford’s background is as an offensive line coach, so it’s a safe bet Pratt will hear a few words he wouldn’t use on a Mormon mission, but, so far, the city seems like a good fit for this farm boy.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” he said. “I love the intensity Coach Wolford and Coach Carm bring.

“Everyone’s attitude has been amazing. I’m really looking forward to playing.”

1465

YSU Penguin Athletics / Penguins Continue Work With High Energy Practice on Friday

« on: March 25, 2011, 11:38:50 PM »

The Youngstown State football team spent two-and-a-half hours working out in helmets and shorts on a brisk Friday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Penguins continued to work on fundamentals and on Saturday morning will put on full pads for the first time this spring. Practice is set to start at 10 a.m.

Head Coach Eric Wolford said he has been pleased with the first two practices so far, but the real work starts on Saturday morning.

"I'm excited and I think these guys are kind of antsy cause we are anxious to get the pads on tomorrow," Wolford said. "I always say a lot of guys look good in shorts, but tomorrow we'll find out whose for real and you'll hopeful hear some pads popping."

Upcoming Spring Schedule (All Practices at Stambaugh Stadium)
March 26 - Practice | 10 a.m.
March 27 - Pizza Cookoff | 4-7 p.m.
March 28 - Practice | 4 p.m.
March 30 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 1 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 2 - Scrimmage | 10 a.m.
April 4 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 6 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 8 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 9 - Scrimmage | 10 a.m.
April 10 - FCA Banquet | 6 p.m.
April 11 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 12 - Bob Dove Luncheon | Noon
April 13 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 15 - Women's Coaching Clinic | 5:30 p.m.
April 15 - Practice | 6:30 p.m.
April 16 - Spring Game | 12:05 p.m.
April 17 - No Stone Unturned Pancake Breakfast at Mt. Carmel
May 6 - Football Alumni Reunion - Youngstown Country Club

For Season Ticket or Spring Game information contact the YSU Athletics Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.

1466

YSU Penguin Athletics / Vargo: YSU working on closing games out

« on: March 24, 2011, 06:31:42 AM »

LAST year's Youngstown State University football team lost its last seven games by 10 points or less.

This season, second-year coach Eric Wolford knows his team had a problem late in games - either holding onto a lead or finishing a rally.

As the Penguins enter the 2011 spring practice, Wolford wants to remedy the crunch-time situation.

Things began so well in 2010's Missouri Valley Football Conference slate with a 14-point rally over Southern Illinois, but went quickly went south for the then 3-1 Penguins.

The 35-25 loss at Missouri State a week later was an eye opener for the youthful YSU squad as the Penguins blew a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter.

The reason for this year's sense of urgency may have stemmed from the following North Dakota State game. Down 28-20, YSU quickly scored twice on a touchdown and a field-goal - giving the Penguins a one-point edge with 51 seconds left. If the Penguins simply held, they'd improve to 4-2. Instead, YSU surrendered a 45-yard touchdown reception.

The secondary was torched throughout the 2010 season and, for that fact, the defense, as a whole, was a sore spot in the Penguins' seven-game skid.

"We'll have a fourth quarter at the end of the day, every day," Wolford said. "I've picked out certain things I want to dwell on for that day. We'll work on a lot of 2-minute situations. We'll work on a lot of 4-minute situations."

Those four-minute situations stem from the Western Illinois game where the Penguins could not hold onto a four-point cushion with more than 5 minutes remaining.

"For you guys who don't know what 4 minutes is, it is when you have an opportunity on offense and you have the ball, and there is 4 minutes left in the game and you've got to run the clock out - stay inbounds, don't turn the ball over," Wolford said. "We had that opportunity in the Western Illinois game. At the end of the day, we didn't convert. We had a chance to run the clock out there and we didn't. You guys all know what happened at the end of that game.

"Those are the kind of situations we're going to work on the end of 2 minutes, when the other team has the ball - all we've got to do is stop them. We've got the lead, 38-34. We need to do that."

In that Western Illinois game, the Leathernecks had the ball with 2:13 left at their own 20. After two incompletions, it seemed Western Illinois was in dire straits on third-and-10. Leathernecks quarterback Matt Barr, in John Elway fashion, scrambled for 20 yards - eventually leading to the game-winning score a minute later.

"We need to work on third down," Wolford said. "We'll have a winner and loser (in practice), and that group will run. There will be stakes for a winner or a loser. We'll have that at the end of practice, in the last 2 minutes, when we're working on a specific situation. You've got to embrace it. You can't shy away from it. It's the end of practice, you're tired. We're going to work them. And, I want to see who is going to step up. That last segment, the fourth quarter, I call it. Get the job done. Can you get us a couple first downs, run the clock out? Can you make a play when the ball is in the air?

"We're going to find out."

This season, YSU and Wolford will find out if this preparation leads to much different results than in 2010.

jvargo@tribtoday.com

1467

YSU Penguin Athletics / Penguins Open Spring Drills as Wolford Begins Second Season

« on: March 23, 2011, 09:40:52 PM »

Coach Eric Wolford opened his second season as the Penguins' head coach on Wednesday as the Youngstown State football started Spring Drills with a two-and-a-half hour workout in helmets and shorts at Stambaugh Stadium.

Rain and cool weather greeted the Penguins for the first hour of the workout. YSU spent the second half of the first hour working in postion groups.

The Guins capped off the session with 30 minutes of offense against defense work.

Wolford said the first practice of his second season as head coach was a lot different from his first one in 2010.

"We're a year older and everyone is understanding what we expect," Wolford said. "I think it's important to them and that's a compliment to them.

"We had a good day today and the kids are working hard," Wolford said. "It was good to see some guys step up and make some plays. It's the first day, we don't have any pads on, we weren't doing any tackling there or anything like that, but it was good to see guys flying around and playing with intensity. It's good to see we're making some progress as far as we physically look better. Hopefully we can continue to get better."

The Penguins return 45 letterwinners (22 on offense, 21 on defense and two on special teams) from last year's squad and have a total of 47 lettermen on the roster with the additions of 2010 redshirts Taylor Hill and Jelani Berassa. YSU has 71 players on the current roster.

A total of 18 seniors are on the team with just seven on the offensive side of the ball. The Penguins lost 21 seniors from the 2010 squad. YSU returns eight redshirt freshman who were with the team in the fall.

The Guins return to the gridiron on Friday afternoon for their second practice of the spring. The practice is set to start at 4 p.m.

Upcoming Spring Schedule (All Practices at Stambaugh Stadium)
March 25 - Practice | 4 p.m.
March 26 - Practice | 10 a.m.
March 27 - Pizza Cookoff | 4-7 p.m.
March 28 - Practice | 4 p.m.
March 30 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 1 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 2 - Scrimmage | 10 a.m.
April 4 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 6 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 8 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 9 - Scrimmage | 10 a.m.
April 10 - FCA Banquet | 6 p.m.
April 11 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 12 - Bob Dove Luncheon | Noon
April 13 - Practice | 4 p.m.
April 15 - Women's Coaching Clinic | 5:30 p.m.
April 15 - Practice | 6:30 p.m.
April 16 - Spring Game | 12:05 p.m.
April 17 - No Stone Unturned Pancake Breakfast at Mt. Carmel
May 6 - Football Alumni Reunion - Youngstown Country Club

For Season Ticket or Spring Game information contact the YSU Athletics Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.

1468

YSU Penguin Athletics / Road-weary team finally home

« on: March 23, 2011, 06:52:45 AM »

By Jon Moffett

jmoffett@vindy.com

NILES

Joe Iacobucci isn’t ready to give up his home-cooked meals and his own bed anytime soon.

The rock-star lifestyle is only so enticing. But when reality sets in, life on the road can be a little foreign.

That’s why the Boardman High graduate and his Youngstown State baseball teammates are ready to come back home. And it gets even longer when you’re away from the comforts of home for weeks at a time.

“It’s a great feeling, because being at home is just so much more comfortable,” the senior outfielder said. “When you’re on the road, you have to be in a hotel and eat bad food. Being at home is definitely a lot more comfortable. You have a lot more leeway with stuff, I think.”

Luckily for Iacobucci and the Penguins, the team will get a temporary fix of home to tide them over for a while. The Penguins (3-14) will play at the friendly confines of Eastwood Field today against Penn State Behrend at 3 p.m. After that is a road trip to Wright State to begin Horizon League play.

But YSU coach Rich Pasquale said it’s going to be nice to play in front of the home fans and not have to worry about so many of the formalities. Even if it is only for one game.

“It’ll be fun. It’s going to feel weird with us wearing white and to hit second,” he said.

The Penguins have struggled early into this season, but Pasquale said even the losses have taught the team about its potential. While no one is accepting the lopsided win-loss record as is, he said the team is learning to adapt from those mistakes.

“It’s part of them believing and feeling like they can do this,” he said. “Sometimes when you lose, you lose a little confidence. We’re hitting the ball, but we’re hitting it at people. These guys just need to believe that the ball is eventually going to drop.”

A lot of that, Pasquale said, has to do with the mental approach.

Spending almost every day in a new place can build up and eventually wear a player down, he said. Starting pitcher Phil Klein, who was named as the Horizon League’s pitcher of the week for March 14, said it’s the toll the road takes on a player that can put them into a funk.

“Traveling is fun and getting down into the warm weather is fun. But people don’t the see the staying in the hotels and living out of a suitcase or all that stuff,” he said. “There are certain things that you have to make do with. Like sometimes it’s hard to find ice in the hotel or find a place to run around, especially if it’s not nice outside.

“But we make do with what we can,” he said.

Klein especially is looking forward to pitching at home. There is a certain energy the crowd emits. And players like Klein can absorb it. And that leads to better production.

“Just getting ahead of guys in the count is important,” the 6-foot-7 right-hander said. “If I’m working backwards, that’s when they start getting walks, hits, runs.

“If you start off throwing balls, then they’re going to know what’s coming; probably fastballs over the middle, something they can hit,” he said. “But if you start off throwing off-speed stuff in the dirt or throwing away, then bust them inside. You can kind of fool around with them a little bit.”

And nothing helps a players’ preparation like familiarity. And familiarity with a ballpark, routine or schedule can make a world of difference.

“It will be nice to stay home and drive out to the field whenever we’re ready,” Klein said. “You don’t need to pack anything or worry about forgetting this or that. And it will be nice playing in front of our fans.”

1469

YSU Penguin Athletics / Video: Wolford Announces Addition to Staff, Coaching Assignment Adjustments

« on: March 22, 2011, 09:01:27 PM »

Youngstown State Head Football Coach Eric Wolford announced on Tuesday that Mauro Monz has joined the Penguins' staff as tight ends coach. Also, with Spring Practice set to open on Wednesday, Wolford released assignment adjustments involving his current group of assistants.

On offense, current assistant coach Andre Coleman moves from coaching the tight ends to wide receivers and assistant coach Louie Matsakis assumes the role of recruiting coordinator. Matsakis will continue as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator, Carmen Bricillo will remain as offensive line coach and Shane Montgomery remains as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.

On defense, second-year coordinator Rick Kravitz will coach the safeties, Rollen Smith will coach the cornerbacks, while Frank J. Buffano and Ron Stoops Jr. will handle the linebacking corps. Assistant Head Coach Tom Sims will continue his role as the defensive line coach.

Monz brings 14 years of collegiate coaching experience to Youngstown State.

Monz, who has two years of head coaching experience, has been an assistant at Akron, Duquesne and Robert Morris. He was the head coach for two seasons (2003-04) at West Virginia Tech, an NAIA school in Montgomery, W. Va.

He was with Akron from 2006-09 moving from a director of football operations post to wide receivers coach his final three seasons.

Most recently, Monz spent the 2010 campaign as a special offensive assistant at Robert Morris under Head Coach Joe Walton. The Colonials had a stellar season wining the Northeast Conference title and advancing to the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history. RMU averaged 28.5 points per contest and 358.3 yards a game. Seven times the Colonials scored at least 30 points and the offense scored 43 touchdowns in 12 games.

Monz spent the 2005 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Duquesne for Head Coach Jerry Schmitt.

The Penguins open spring drills on Wednesday at Stambaugh Stadium. Practice is set to begin around 4 p.m.

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YSU Penguin Athletics / Phil Klein Named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week

« on: March 22, 2011, 10:02:54 AM »

Youngstown -- Youngstown State senior Phil Klein has been named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for the week of March 14, the league office announced.

Klein carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and did not allow a base-runner until the fifth in leading YSU to a 7-1 victory over Toledo on Sunday. Klein struck out a career-high 13 of the 29 batters he faced in eight innings of work. He allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk.

Klein earned the weekly honor for the first time in his career.

Over his last two starts, Klein has a 1.38 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 13 innings.

Klein and Youngstown State is scheduled to play the 2011 home opener on Wednesday at Eastwood Field. First pitch against Penn State-Behrend is set for 3 p.m.