The University of Akron Athletics
UA Baseball Set for MAC Series Finale at Bowling Green
May 13 | Baseball
AKRON, Ohio – After going 3-1 against then-No. 26 Kent State, the Zips are 18-31 overall and 11-13 in the Mid-American Conference heading into the upcoming series against the first place Falcons of Bowling Green.
Bowling Green holds the series edge over Akron with a 32-22 advantage since the teams' first meeting back in 1893. The two clubs last met in 2008 with BG claiming the three-game set after downing the Zips, 15-9 in the series opener. Akron suffered a 12-7 setback in an 11-inning heartbreaking loss before dropping the rubber match, 4-3 at Lee Jackson Field last year.
Akron and BG will open play on Thursday, May 14th at 3:00 pm. The Zips will also play the Falcons on Friday, May 15th at 1:00 pm before closing the series out on Saturday, May 16th at 1:00 pm. Stats and complete game recaps will be available via www.GoZips.com. The entire series will also be broadcast on Sports Radio 1350 AM with Bill Morgan's call.
Zips Recap
After thrashing then-No. 26
Kent State, 12-5 in the third annual Diamond Classic For Kids at
Canal Park, the Zips got right back to work in the MAC series at
Kent. Akron opened the series with a thrilling 8-4 victory in 11
innings before falling in game two against the Golden Flashes,
12-9. The Zips hung on to a 5-3 victory in Sunday's rubber match to
pick up their first series win over the Golden Flashes since the
2005 campaign.
Junior designated hitter Jake Plata leads the club with a .359 clip on the year heading into the series. Plata has 56 hits on the year, including 12 doubles, three home runs and 25 RBIs. Senior outfielder Matt Roberts is batting .347 on the year, and has a team-high 68 hits and 49 run scored on the year. Roberts has registered 12 doubles on the year, adding a pair of triples and eight homers with 34 RBIs on the season. Junior infielder Brian Kordal is batting .341 on the year and leads the club with 40 RBIs. Kordal has 60 hits on the year, including 11 doubles, four triples and four home runs. As a team, the Zips are hitting .299 on the year with 535 hits, including 97 doubles, 13 triples, 52 homers and 289 RBIs.
On the mound, sophomore Benjamin Danziger (3-4, 4.97) picked up Sunday's win, tallying a career-high nine strikeouts to pace the club with 55 Ks on the season en route to picking up this week's MAC East Pitcher of the Week accolade. Redshirt freshman Chris Bassitt (1-2, 2.40) earned the save on Sunday, his seventh on the season to move into second on the all-time UA single season list for saves. As a staff, the Zips hold a collective 6.20 ERA and have allowed 296 earned runs on 534 hits in 430 innings pitched. Akron hurlers have tossed 331 strikeouts, the most Ks amassed in the past three seasons.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons enter this MAC series with a 6-0 win streak in conference play. Bowling Green swept Ohio two weeks ago before breaking out the brooms against Buffalo to take sole possession of first place in the MAC East. Bowling Green most recently dropped a midweek non-conference, falling to Oakland, 20-17 in 11 innings at Steller Field. The Falcons enter the series with a 26-19 overall record and 16-8 mark in the MAC.
BG is led by junior catcher/infielder Tyler Elkins who is currently batting .410 with 66 hits on the year, including 66 hits with 16 doubles, a triple, home run and 31 RBIs. Senior infielder Ryan Shay is batting a .396 clip with a team-high 76 hits with 16 doubles, three triples and a team-high 12 round-trippers and leads the squad with 49 RBIs. Junior infielder Derek Spencer is batting .382 adding to the offensive output with the second-most hits with 66 on the year. Spencer has seven doubles, two triples and 11 homers on the year with 48 RBIs. As a squad, BG is batting a .347 clip with 586 hits, including 95 doubles, 20 triples, 51 homers and 352 RBIs.
On the mound, sophomore
righty Brennan Smith (8-3, 3.70) has been the workhorse,
surrendering 30 earned runs on 62 hits in 73 innings of work while
tossing a team-high 68 strikeouts on the year. Sophomore southpaw
Matt Malewitz (5-1, 4.33) has surrendered 35 earned runs on 70 hits
in 72.2 innings of work, picking up 52 Ks on the season. Rounding
out the top three pitchers is freshman lefty Kacy Dwornick (4-1,
5.44) who has surrendered 27 earned runs on 46 hits in 44.2 innings
of work with 39 strikeouts. As a staff, the Falcons hold a staff
ERA of 7.27 and have allowed 322 earned runs on 525 hits in 398.2
innings of work. The pitching staff has issued 170 walks and fanned
289 batters.
