The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Baseball Summer Update
July 20 | Baseball
A lifelong dream realized and perhaps another one on its way
highlighted the first half of the summer for the Akron baseball
program.
Right-hander Billy McKinney, who served as the Zips' staff ace
last spring in his final year of eligibility, became the second UA
hurler to sign a professional contract in as many years by inking a
deal with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League earlier this
month.
McKinney battled back from Tommy John surgery to pace the Zips with
50 strikeouts, compared to 20 walks, in 76.0 innings last spring.
The Loveland, Ohio native's 12 starts and two complete games tied
for the staff lead.
Since signing with the Grizzlies on July 6th, McKinney has made
four appearances, including one start, and has posted a respectable
ERA of 4.20 and an 0-1 record spanning 15.0 innings. He has struck
out nine and walked just a pair.
Former Zips' hurler Ross Liersemann was an 18th-round selection of
the Florida Marlins in 2005 and right-hander Tom
Farmer, who was a medical redshirt in 2006, was most recently a
20th-round pick (draft-and-follow) of the Minnesota Twins last
month.
The Grizzlies play their home games in Sauget, llinois. The
Frontier League is a minor league baseball independent league that
operates in the Midwest.
DAVIDSON PACES NINTH-RANKED SUMMER TEAM IN
NATION
Meanwhile, soon-to-be senior Kurt
Davidson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover), the Zips' first team
All-Mid-American Conference catcher, is having another standout
season for the Waynesboro Generals of the Virginia Valley
League.
Davidson currently leads the circuit in a number of categories
including hits (46), RBI (34), total bases (69) and at-bats (142),
and is fifth with 29 runs scored. His .324 batting average in 36
games is 8th-highest in the league. With 29 wins to nine losses (as
of July 20), Waynesboro owns the Valley's top mark.
Moreover, the Generals were ranked 9th in the nation by PGCrosschecker.com in this
week's Summer 16 Power Rankings. The rankings are open to all teams
that participate in college summer league baseball.
Davidson was named to the All-Star game for the second straight
summer and participated in this year's home run derby. Davidson,
who is widely considered one of the top hitters in the MAC, became
Akron's all-time home runs leader last season. He was the third UA
player to be named to the American Baseball Coaches
Association/Rawlings All-Mideast Region team (second team) last
month.
The Zips (23-24) posted an eight-game improvement in their win
column last season despite losing six games due to weather in head
coach Pat Bangtson's second year at the helm.
ZIPS NOTEBOOK: All-MAC first baseman Doug
McNulty (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) is batting .295 with a
pair of triples, a home run and 16 RBI for the Carolina Sox of the
Southern Collegiate Baseball League ... The Stark County team of
the Great Lakes League features four UA players, including senior
Vince
Chiera (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), juniors Frank
Turocy (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) and Phil
Bednar (Monroe Falls, Ohio/Stow/Ball State) and sophomore Kevin
Haas (Fairfield, Ohio/St. Ignatius).
