The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Open Season With A Bang - Split With Arkansas State
February 17 | Baseball
Feb. 17, 2006
Box Score
JONESBORO, Arkansas - The 2006 University of Akron baseball season began with a bang as the Zips handed Arkansas State its first loss of the season, 7-2, behind an all-around dominate performance in game one of a double-header. In game two, Akron could not win the offensive explosion against the Indians, falling 12-10 in seven innings.
In the Zips first at-bat of the season, senior captain Brian Kimutis (Washington, Pa./Trinity) put the Zips up a run with a home run over the left field fence. However, Arkansas State had the same game plan in place, as Michael Williams Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a home run, the second time in three games he has led off a game for the Indians with a solo-blast.
Akron responded in the second and third innings with lead-off doubles by Doug McNulty (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Central) and Kimutis that led to RBI's by freshman Ryan Romick (Hannibal, Ohio/Hannibal) and senior Marcus Geiselman (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley), respectively. For Romick it was his first RBI in his first career collegiate at-bat. With a 3-1 led in the bottom of the fourth, starting pitcher Ross Liersemann (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) was tagged for another solo home run, this time by Tayler Doke cut the Zips advantage to only a single run.
As the starting pitchers settled in, the score remained 3-2
headed into the top of the eighth with Indians starter Taylor
Fowler (1-1) out of the game, the Zips took advantage of an ASU
error and a miss-played fly ball to deep right to blow the game
open.
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A lead-off walk to Kimutis and an infield error on a tough short-hop to third by sophomore Scott Gunn (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) put two runners on with no outs. Sophomore Kurt Davidson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) gave Akron some breathing room with an RBI double to left and Geiselman loaded the bases with a walk, chasing relief pitcher Nicholas Lambert from the game.
With one out in the inning, junior Chase Liggett (Malvern, Ohio/Florida Community College) hit a fly ball to the warning track in right that would have easily scored Kimutis from third, but Doke tried to fool the Zips into thinking the ball being a lazy fly ball, but Doke quickly realized he had fooled himself as the ball was hit harder than he originally thought and dropped on the warning track, scoring two and putting two in position to make it a four-run inning.
Akron headed into the bottom of the eighth with a 7-2 lead, where Liersemann (1-0) set the Indians down in order and senior Pat Watt (Struthers, Ohio/Struthers) pitched an almost perfect ninth, as the Zips earned new head coach Pat Bangtson his first career collegiate victory as the man in charge.
UA's pitching staff was able to control three of the hottest hitters in the Sun Belt Conference entering the weekend. The trio of Kevin Kull Jr., Hudson Street and Brett Kinning entered the game a combined 14-24 (.583) with nine runs scored, four RBI's and four extra-base hits. However, against Akron the trio combined for just one hit in 10 at-bats with no runs or RBI's in the game one loss.
In game two, the Zips handed the ball over to sophomore Tom Farmer (Berea, Ohio/Berea) who did just enough to keep the Zips in the game, despite having his troubles with Josh Yates. In the first inning, Yates drove in three with a two-out three-run home run to left. Then after the Zips closed to within a run at 4-3 in the third, he lined a ball down the third baseline for a double and scored on a RBI-single by Doke starting a big inning for ASU.
Trailing 9-3 in the fourth, Akron added a single run in the fourth and another in the fifth off of a home run by Davidson that struck the right field scoreboard that began a big four-run inning to pull to within a run at 9-8.
In the bottom of the fifth, Drew Rogers hit a solo-home run to give the Indians a little insurance, but that did not last long as for the second-straight inning, Davidson led off with a solo-home run of his own. With two outs in the inning and McNulty at third a wild-pitch on a strike three swinging allowed the tying run to cross the plate.
Entering the bottom of the sixth the Zips had fought their way back from down six runs to make it a brand new ballgame. Akron sent freshman Jeremy Goldizen (Perry, Ohio/Perry) to the mound who surendered a lead-off triple to Krull, who scored on a fielders choice to give the lead back to ASU. The Indians added one more run on a hit-by-pitch, stolen base, wild-pitch and two-out error.
In the top of the seventh the Zips threatened with the tying run on base and only one out, but the Indians escaped with the 12-10 win and the double-header split. Akron and Arkansas State will attempt to complete the series on Saturday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST.
