The University of Akron Athletics
Baseball Set To Face Lake Erie College Tuesday
March 29 | Baseball
AKRON, Ohio - Coming off a 3-1 week, including two conference wins over Western Michigan, the Zips are slated to face Division II Independent Lake Erie College Tuesday, March 30. The game against the Storm will begin at 3 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field.
Last week the Zips (13-9, 2-1 MAC) defeated Duquesne, 7-4 in a midweek matchup in which Sam Watkins went yard twice while Scott Foster earned the win. Akron registered a 2-1 record, opening Mid-American Conference play against Western Michigan. Akron suffered it's fourth one-run loss on the season in the series opener, dropping the contest 3-2 as a pair of late rallies against the Broncos fell short. The resilient Zips rebounded in a big way, sweeping Saturday's doubleheader with 10-2 and 10-3 victories. Sophomore hurler Andrew Brown picked up his fourth win on the season while junior Benjamin Danziger won his third. Offensively, catcher John Turk managed a .500 average over the weekend, notching seven hits in 14 plate appearances and driving in a team-high six RBIs over the weekend series.
Lake Erie enters Tuesday with a 9-8 record overall and 1-1 mark in the Independent league. The Storm recently knocked off Cleveland State, 19-4 to earn its first Division I victory in program history. Junior outfielder Brandon James leads the team with a .473 batting average and enters the game with 26 hits, including four doubles, a triple and four home runs with 16 RBIs. Junior Catcher Nick Lovick is batting .443 with a team-high 27 hits and 25 RBIs while sophomore shortstop Ryan Rua (.424, 25 hits, 20 RBI) leads the team with seven home runs on the year.
As a team the Storm is batting .336 and has already knocked 188 hits, including 34 doubles, four triples and 22 homers while driving in 143 runs. Lake Erie baserunners have swiped 17 bases in 26 attempts. The pitching staff has a combined ERA of 10.29 compiled in 123.1 innings pitched. The staff has surrendered 156 runs (141 earned), issued 69 walks and struck out 84 batters. The staff is currently holding opponents to a .362 batting average.
Fans unable to attend can tune into the game and listen to Bill Morgan's call on the Akron ISP Network on www.GoZips.com. The Pregame show will begin at 2:45 p.m. while live stats will also be available online.
