Lakers' Youtsler receives award

CELINA - Cross Youtsler pitched a perfect game while at Bishop Fenwick High School.

He was close to perfection again in his freshman season with Wright State University-Lake Campus.

Last Friday, Youtsler was one hiccup away from a perfect game in a 16-0 win over Robert Morris University-Peoria at Wright State's Nischwitz Stadium in Beavercreek. A walk to Payton Mojica was the only stain on Youtsler's stat sheet. Nonetheless, the right-hander finished with a no hitter, striking out six in a five-inning win.

"My fastball was moving a lot. That was a big part of it," Youtsler said during the Lakers' Wednesday game with Urbana University. "I knew the whole time pretty much, but I didn't let it get to my head. I just made sure I continued to play my game, and everything fell through."

Youtsler was named USCAA Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday. He shared the honor with Bryant & Stratton College's Zach Mattos.

"I wasn't necessarily surprised since I've looked through (the awards) before and you see other pitchers throw no-hitters and win it," he said. "I was obviously pretty humbled by it."

Before choosing Lake Campus, Youtsler had a couple offers from Ohio Athletic Conference schools and Division II baseball programs. Now, he's winning awards and the Lakers are winning games.

This season, Youtsler is 4-1 with a 3.33 earned run average and 19 strikeouts in 27 innings. The Lakers are ranked third in the Week 4 Spring Coaches Poll and gearing for another run in the USCAA Small College World Series.

"I'm having a pretty good season, but I wish I could be a little better than I am now," Youtsler said. "As a team, I think we're doing pretty well. We just need to put some things together, get the bats going, have timely hitting and good fielding behind the pitchers. The pitchers are doing good."