Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Returning YSU infielder Trey Law makes contact with a pitch during a game against Milwaukee last season in the Horizon League tournament. Law led the Penguins with a .362 batting average.

YOUNGSTOWN — After a slow start to the season, Youngstown State was playing some of its best baseball by the end of last year.

The Penguins won 12 of their final 16 games of the regular season, which included a stretch that saw them win eight straight games at one point — YSU’s longest win streak since 2005.

Eighth-year head coach Dan Bertolini and the Penguins want to continue to build on that success going into this upcoming season, which begins Friday with a three-game series at Texas State.

“I think for us, we just want to compete as hard as we can, and take it one pitch at a time,” said junior RHP Jake Gehring, a South Range product, who transferred from Ohio State. “I think in baseball, you get caught up maybe looking down the road or after the first couple of weeks. But I think for us, it’s play hard every single day, every single pitch. We have enough talent to make a lot of noise, not only in our league, but outside of the conference. So I think for us, as long as we do what we know how to do, I think we’re going to shock a lot of people, but also fulfill some of those goals we have for ourselves later on in the season.”

Despite starting the year 3-13, YSU finished last season 19-36 overall and 13-16 in the Horizon League to take fourth in the conference standings.

One of the issues that plagued the Penguins at times last season was pitching depth. YSU was hit hard by injuries throughout the year, and at times was forced to figure things out on the fly.

Now, however, it’s a new season, so the Penguins are healthy and they return a sizable portion of their pitching depth, while also having added to their rotation and bullpen in the offseason, as well. Seven pitchers who threw at least 27 innings on the mound last season are back for the Penguins.

“I think this is probably one of the deepest teams we’ve ever had, especially from a pitching side,” Bertolini said. “Top to bottom, we have some really good talent in arms. But I think that’s the biggest difference. (Last year), we were a little bit thin on the mound and it took us a while to kind of figure things out. I’ve been really impressed with the way our players have handled themselves. As we pitch, I think we’ll play really well.”

Sophomore LHP Braden Gebhardt headlines YSU’s group of returners. The Howland native went 3-3 with a 6.29 ERA and earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman team.

Fifth-year RHP Casey Marshalwitz (8.58 ERA) made 30 relief appearances out of the bullpen last year for the Penguins, finishing with six saves, which ranked second in the conference and sixth most in a season in program history. Other returners include a group of sophomores, consisting of Casey’s younger brother Cam (3-2, 7.14 ERA), RHP Brandin Anderson (1-2, 15.78 ERA), RHP Zach Stayduhar (0-1, 6.85 ERA) and RHP Aidan English (1-5, 7.50 ERA).

As one of the team’s offseason additions, Bertolini said he expects Gehring to be YSU’s Friday starter.

“We have a lot of different arms and we’re very deep in the pitching staff,” Gehring said. “We have righties all the way up to 94 mph, and we have lefties that throw sidearm up to 85, 88 mph. So we have a whole different spectrum of arms. I think we’re all focused on the same goal, throwing strikes, getting ahead and letting the defense work behind us. I think as long as we just stay within ourselves and trust ourselves, I think this pitching staff can be very good.”

Bertolini also noted that freshmen RHPs Chris Domke, Gavin Wilms and Colin Casteel are going to make immediate impacts in the bullpen.

“I think there’s a lot of really talented freshmen that will get more opportunities on the mound,” Bertolini said. “Chris Domke has been electric for us — I could see him fitting in kind of a back-end reliever role. Gavin Wilms, Colin Casteel — we have some really good arms in the back end that will help us and be impact players for us.”

But even with the pitching issues last season, the Penguins were still able to lean on their offense. As a team, YSU had a .278 batting average, which was the second best in the Horizon League. The Penguins had plenty of power too, as they racked up 54 home runs.

“Last year, we were a little bit one-dimensional at times — we were very offensive,” Bertolini said. “We hit a lot of home runs and had a lot of extra base hits, but I think this year we’re a little bit more versatile. We have some guys that can really drive the baseball, but we’re really athletic. We’re going to run the bases, and we have a bunch of guys like that or runners that can really run, so I think we’re going to put a lot of pressure on teams.”

YSU returns two of the best hitters in the conference at the top of its lineup in senior infielder Trey Law and sophomore infielder Matt Thompson. Law led the Penguins with a .362 average, which ranked second in the conference, while Thompson batted .316, good enough for ninth in the league.

Senior outfielder RJ Sherwood is also back after batting .226 last year, and was second on the team in home runs with eight.

But YSU also added freshman outfielder Derrick Tarpley Jr., who Bertolini is particularly high on. The Brownsville, Pa. native was drafted in the 18th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics.

“He’s a guy that’s going to be an everyday starter for us,” Bertolini said. “He had an unbelievable fall and he’s had a great spring since we started. I would say he’s probably going to start in center for us.”

As it has been in the past, Wright State remains the team to beat in the Horizon League.

But, YSU’s schedule also includes a mixture of Power Five non-conference opposition, including Ohio State, Pitt, Georgia Tech and Louisville, as well as some traditional in-state foes, such as Ohio, Kent State, Bowling Green, Akron and Toledo.

“I think it’s exciting. I think our style of baseball this year is going to be exciting to watch,” Bertolini said. “I’m looking forward to doing it against somebody else other than ourselves here for the last, whatever it is, seven months we’ve been here.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com