Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State freshman Bree Kohler, a South Range graduate, hurls a pitch for the Penguins during their fall slate.

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s difficult to leap over a bar that’s been set so high.

For Youngstown State’s softball program, their 2021 Spring campaign saw the highs of a historic 36-win season, which led to a regular season Horizon League title, to the lows of bowing out of the Horizon League tournament following a pair of home losses.

But, the Penguins have their eyes on bigger and better prizes.

Over the fall, Youngstown State had the opportunity to participate in fall scrimmages against other schools like Akron and Gannon, something lacking last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Regardless of what triumphs were made in the Spring though, focus is the key.

“We have unfinished business after last year,” said fifth year senior Elle Buffenbarger, who went 20-4 last spring with 212 strikeouts. “That bar, we didn’t even meet where we wanted to finish last year, so we’re reaching that goal of reaching the NCAA tournament and winning the Horizon League tournament.

“I thought that there was stuff I could have done better in that last game (versus Oakland). I thought about it all summer as I was working, and playing summer ball. I thought about not letting it happen again.”

During September and October, the Penguins competed against other teams on their home turf, taking advantage of the weather and staying outside as long as possible. But when the autumn wind begins to take a turn, YSU uses the WATTS, along with their indoor batting cages, to continue their offseason work.

Having success to build off of is a start, but continuing it is the real challenge.

“You remember your past, you remember your history, in 2006 YSU won the (league) tournament there, that’s part of history, and you remember that stuff and look back at it,” coach Brian Campbell said. “But you have to understand that you have to keep taking your steps moving forward, it’s a fresh year, you’re 0-0 and off you go again.”

Fall ball is a great opportunity for coaching staffs to experiment with different lineups, seeing where a hitter may perform best within the batting order, along with providing pitchers an opportunity to face live hitting and Campbell will have a trio of fresh faces to work into the lineup.

Megan Turner, a Champion grad who transferred in from Kent State, along with freshman Taylor Truran and Bree Kohler are a few.

Kohler, a graduate of South Range, and a key piece of the state-runner up Raiders in the spring, used the fall to identify how to fit in with the veteran Penguins, especially as a pitcher.

“It nice to know that, yeah, our team is really good, and we have a good chance to go far this year, but to know that all the older girls are so welcoming, and they’re so nice to me, it makes me feel well,” Kohler said. “It’s nice to know that when I’m pitching and I have questions about everything, I have Elle to be there and talk about, she’s such a really big role model to me, it really means a lot.”

Other local talent includes Sophie Howell (Champion), Conchetta Rinaldi (Cardinal Mooney), and Kayla Rutherford (Cardinal Mooney).

“It’s nice to know people I’ve played against in high school, and knowing that when they were really good in high school, it’s nice to finally be on the same team as them.” Kohler added.

Fifth-year senior Nikki Saibene, who batted .377 in the spring, with a team-high 12 home runs, joins fellow fifth-years like Milena Lacatena and Bufferbarger, who have this extra season due to the COVID-19 pandemic sinking the 2020 spring season.

Once you play a sport at the collegiate level for so long, that extra year can sneak up on an athlete.

“I definitely can feel it physically,” Saibene said with a laugh. “But after getting that one season taken away, it doesn’t really feel like a fifth year in a sense when I’m on the field.”

Leading the team in batting average behind Jillian Jakse (.343), and Alex DeLeon (.333), finding that next edge is what motivates a hitter, especially one that wants to drive the ball.

“I think as a team we’re doing really great with just treating everything, even practice as if it were a game,” Saibene said. “Say we’re just going off the machine, mentally, we’re saying, oh, what if this was UIC’s pitcher, what would they do in this situation.”

YSU begins their campaign on February 11th, 2022 versus Colgate in a tournament being hosted by Gardner-Webb. During the Spring they’ll face South Carolina of the SEC, along with trips to Akron and Ohio State, the latter of which fields another Champion alum, Allison Smith.

The Penguins home opener is set for March 11th versus Detroit Mercy.