The University of Akron Athletics
Baseball Opens Homestand at 3 p.m. Wednesday
March 28 | Baseball
AKRON, Ohio - After 16 straight road games to
open the 2007 season, the University of Akron baseball team (10-6,
1-2 Mid-American Conference) will begin its home schedule Wednesday
with a single game against Cleveland State starting at 3 p.m. at
Lee Jackson Field.
Cleveland State has struggled so far in 2007 with just three wins
in its first 21 games. The Vikings lost 10 straight games from Feb.
24th to Mar. 20th and enter the week having lost 13 of their last
14 after a 12-7 loss at Kent State Tuesday afternoon.
The Zips, who are a month ahead of last year's pace, are off to
their best start in 10 years despite a 1-2 conference opening
series at 2006 MAC Tournament-champion Ball State last weekend. As
a team, the Zips are second in the conference with a .291 batting
average, seventh in the league with a 4.86 ERA and are also the
MAC's top fielding club (.977 fielding percentage).
Furthermore, Akron boasts three starters batting better than .300
in junior first baseman
Doug McNulty (Homer City,
Pa./Homer-Center) at .375, junior catcher
Kurt Davidson (North
Canton, Ohio/Hoover) at .329 and junior third baseman
Vince Chiera (Akron,
Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) at .321. Davidson has four home runs on the
season and 23 for his career, ranking him 6th on the school's
all-time list. With six more long-balls, he will surpass Mike
Doerbecker (1996-99) and Dick Duncan (1981-84), who share the
record with 28.
On the mound, UA is led by senior
Billy McKinney (Loveland,
Ohio/Kings), who is 8th in the conference with a 3.13 ERA.
Providing depth and versatility, senior
Pat
Gliha (Euclid, Ohio/Villa Angela-St. Joseph), who has posted a
record of 2-0 and a save in six outings, is another UA player on
records watch as he needs just six more appearances to become the
school's all-time leader.
Akron got a glimpse into the future last weekend when first-year
starter Steven Zemanek II (Euclid,
Ohio/Villa Angela-St. Joseph) posted his third victory in four
starts in guiding UA to a 13-5 decision over Ball State. The lefty
went the distance in posting Akron's first nine-inning,
complete-game win of the year.
The Zips will jump back into league play with a three-game series
against Northern Illinois starting Friday at 3 p.m. at Lee Jackson
Field.
Akron's Five-Game Homestand
Wed., Mar. 28 vs. Cleveland State, 3 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 30 vs. Northern Illinois, 3 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 31 vs. Northern Illinois, 1 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 1 vs. Northern Illinois, 1 p.m.
Tues., Apr. 3 vs. Malone, 3 p.m.
