The University of Akron Athletics
Softball Earns Pair of Wins to Open Rebel Games
March 15 | Softball
- On a beautiful day in the Sunshine State, The University of Akron softball team picked up two victories to open the Rebel Spring Games, defeating Houston Baptist 5-0 and St. Peter's 12-1 in a five-inning contest. The Zips improve to 8-6 on the season and still have six more games remaining in the tournament.
Against Houston Baptist, senior Heather Bauer threw a complete game shutout and moved to 4-2 with a team-best 2.01 ERA. She struck out four, walked two, and gave up only four hits. At the plate, Akron totaled 11 hits, led by Alex Helfrich who went 3-for-3 and scored two runs. Katie Gross also drove in two runs and recorded two hits, while Olivia Hegedus had a pair of hits and knocked in a run.
The Zips got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the opening frame off RBI hits by Alissa Birkhimer and Hegedus. UA then added a single run in each of the second, fourth, and fifth innings to put Houston Baptist away in the first shutout of the season.
In the second game, Akron's bats were busy, as the Zips notched 18 hits and six players totaled at least two hits. Bauer, this time playing shortstop, was 4-for-4 and scored two runs. Helfrich remained perfect on the day, going 3-for-3 again with one RBI and two runs scored. Alex Feltes, Gross, and Hegedus each had a pair of RBIs in the offensive slugfest, highlighted by a solo shot from Gross in the fifth inning that put the game out of reach for St. Peter's.
UA put three runs on the board in both the second and third innings to build a 6-0 lead, but St. Peter's broke up the shutout in the fourth with an RBI single. Akron responded in the next frame by pounding eight hits that scored six runs. St. Peter's tried to narrow the gap in the bottom of the inning to extend the game but could not manage a hit and left one on base.
Birkhimer picked up the win, improving to 2-1 for the season with a 2.04 ERA. She struck out four, did not allow a walk, and gave up just one hit and no earned runs.
Akron will play two more games tomorrow against Lafayette at 3 p.m. ET and Manhattan at 5 p.m.
