The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Central Michigan
Central Michigan steals two from Softball
May 03 | Softball
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AKRON, Ohio – It was a tale of two games at Lee R. Jackson Field Friday afternoon, as the University of Akron softball team dropped a doubleheader to Central Michigan in Mid-American Conference action.
UA (22-27, 7-13 MAC) saw an early lead slip away in game one coming up short 3-2, and CMU (27-17, 14-6 MAC) brought out overpowering bats in game two, taking the Zips down 12-1 in five innings.
Lisa Lash went 2-for-3 with a double in game one, and was joined by Alissa Birkhimer and Kellie Roudabush in the extra-base hit category. Roudabush and Birkhimer smacked back-to-back doubles with one out in the bottom of the third, leading to Akron's only two runs to claim the early advantage.
Erin Seiler threw seven solid innings but was docked for the loss, moving her record to 16-18 in the circle overall. The freshman allowed just six hits and issued eight strikeouts, forcing Central Michigan to strand 10 runners on the base paths.
The Chippewas cut Akron's lead to one in the top of the fifth on sacrifice fly, and took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a successful suicide squeeze play and an RBI single. The Zips fought back in their last at-bats when Lash roped a two-out double to right center field but that is as close as Akron would come to regaining the advantage in game one.
MacKenzie Conrad (1-2) started game two, throwing two and two-thirds innings and giving up three earned runs.
Central Michigan exploded for a seven-run third inning, six of which came with two outs. Megan Kuhlman made her first appearance of the season in the circle in relief to get the last out of the inning.
The Zips put two runners in scoring position at the bottom of the third after Birkhimer reached on a high fly ball that the CMU second baseman lost in the sun. Jessica Schneider roped a double to left field that moved Birkhimer over to third base but they would stay put.
Akron's only run came in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run off the bat of Roudabush, her first longball of the season. The sophomore went 2-for-3 at the plate in round two, also picking up an infield single in the first inning.
UA's last series of the regular season begins Saturday when the Zips host Eastern Michigan in a single game at 2 p.m. The Zips will continue to fight for a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament May 8-11 at Firestone Stadium in Akron. Qualifying scenarios will become clear pending the outcome of Saturday's game and results from around the league.
