The Youngstown State bowling team is Final Four bound! The Penguins are the champions of the Lansing Regional after beating Nebraska 4-2 in a winner-take-all, best-of-seven Baker match on Saturday evening at Royal Scot Golf & Bowl.

The Penguins advance to the national semifinals next weekend in Allen Park, Mich., outside of Detroit, as one of the final four teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. It will be YSU's second trip to the Final Four in program history, and the Penguins will join fellow Conference USA members Jacksonville State, Arkansas State, and Sam Houston in competing for a national title.

As the top seed in the region, YSU defeated Marian and Maryville on Friday to advance to the finals through the winners' bracket. That gave the Penguins a cushion in the double-elimination regional that they needed as Nebraska won a mega-match 2-0 earlier on Saturday to force the winner-take-all scenario.

YSU dropped the opening game of the best-of-seven Baker but won the next three to take a 3-1 lead in the race to four. Nebraska extended the match with a win in game five, but the Penguins won game six to claim the Regional title.

Nebraska endured a mega-match elimination battle with Maryville Saturday morning to get to the championship round against the Penguins. YSU, which had the morning off after going through the winners' bracket, struggled at the outset in a low-scoring traditional point and fell 921-864. Megan Grams, YSU's lone fifth-year senior, shot 201 as one of just two bowlers to break 200 for either team.

The Penguins trailed by 63 pins after two games in the Baker total pinfall portion of the mega match, but they bounced back to win game three 227-186 and game four 235-201 to take a 12-pin lead with one game remaining. In game five, YSU anchor Jade Cote converted the 4-8-10 split in the 10th frame and followed with a strike to put pressure on Nebraska's anchor. Jillian Martin needed all three strikes for the Huskers, and she was up to the challenge as Nebraska won game five 204-192 to create a tie at 1,003-1,003. That led to a five-frame roll-off, which Nebraska won 138-117 to win the mega-match 2-0 and for the best-of-seven Baker for the championship title.

The teams moved one pair of lanes from 49-50 to 47-48, and the Penguins responded well to the fresh oil. YSU dropped the opening game 168-165, but it won the next three games 243-234, 199-180, and 157-150 to reach the brink of claiming its second Final Four berth. Nebraska extended the match with a 197-189 in game five, but the Penguins emerged with a 173-170 win in a tension-filled game six.

The Penguins had marks in eight of the first nine frames of game six, and Grams and Marx doubled in the eighth and ninth to give YSU a chance to lock out the Huskers in the 10th. Cote left the 2-4-10 on her first ball to give Nebraska an opportunity to force a game seven with a mark, but Martin, who came up clutch throughout the day to keep the Huskers alive, missed high and left the 4-7-10. She failed to take out the ten on the spare attempt, which gave the Penguins a 173-170 victory.

More information on the Final Four will be available throughout the week.

Match Results
Match 1 vs. Nebraska: L, 2-0
Traditional (Total Pinfall) - L: 864-921

Amanda Granata - 177
Megan Grams - 201
Kirsten Moore - 171
Madyson Marx - 148
Jade Cote - 167
Baker (Total Pinfall) - L: 1,003-1003 | 117-138 in roll-off

Game 1: 180-187 (-7)
Game 2: 169-225 (-63)
Game 3: 227-186 (-22)
Game 4: 235-201 (+12)
Game 5: 192-204 (even)
Five-frame roll-off: 117-138 (-21)
Match 2 vs. Nebraska: W, 1-0
Best-of-seven Baker

Game 1: 165-168 | Loss
Game 2: 243-234 | Win
Game 3: 199-180 | Win
Game 4: 157-150 | Win
Game 5: 189-197 | Loss
Game 6: 173-170 | Win

Source:  Youngstown State University