Baseball Opens MAC Play at Eastern Michigan This Weekend

March 19 | Baseball

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Akron at Eastern Michigan Game Notes (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron baseball team begins Mid-American Conference play this weekend as it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan in a three-game series at Oestrike Stadium.

The series is set to begin on Friday, March 20 at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will also be played at 3 p.m., while the series finale is set for a 1 p.m. start time on Sunday.

Gameday Information

Friday, March 20 • 3 p.m. - Live stats

Akron: Jr., LHP John Valek III (2-1, 5.27 ERA)

Eastern Michigan: Sr., RHP Ryan Lavoie (1-2, 5.48 ERA)

Saturday, March 21 • 3 p.m. - Live stats

Akron: Jr., RHP JT Brubaker (1-2, 3.21 ERA)

Eastern Michigan: Sr., RHP Charlie Land (0-3, 4.84 ERA)

Sunday, March 22 • 1 p.m. - Live stats

Akron: RSr., RHP Jon Pusateri (1-2, 3.38 ERA)

Eastern Michigan: Sr., RHP Jake Andrews (2-1, 1.24 ERA)

TIME CHANGE

The series opener between the Zips and the Eagles was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday but has been moved up to a 3 p.m. start time at Oestrike Stadium.

CONFERENCE PLAY

The Zips begin 2015 MAC play at Eastern Michigan. This season, UA hosts MAC teams Toledo (March 27-29), Northern Illinois (April 10-12) and Miami (Ohio) (April 17-19) before it closes out the 2015 slate with its longest homestand of the season as it takes on Buffalo (May 8-10) and defending MAC champion Kent State (May 14-16). The top eight teams in the conference will compete in the 2015 MAC Tournament May 20-23 at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

SERIES ACTION

The Zips own a 19-29 record against the Eagles after completing a three-game sweep against EMU to open MAC play last season at Lee R. Jackson Field by scores of 6-3, 10-5 and 6-0.
With the sweep, fourth-year head coach Rick Rembielak is 3-0 against the West Division foe.

LAST TIME OUT

The Zips last competed when they dropped a pair of midweek games to West Virginia and Pittsburgh on the road in back-to-back high-scoring affairs.
Akron struggled early on against the Mountaineers, falling behind 12-0 through six innings. A late nine-run surge through the final three innings was not enough for the Zips, despite a three-run homer from redshirt senior Joey Havrilak in the top of the ninth as Akron fell 14-9.
The opposite was true in a 13-7 loss to Pittsburgh, as Akron came out swinging to stay neck-and-neck with the Panthers through four innings. The Zips continuously fought off a one-run Pitt lead until the Panthers broke it open with a three-run seventh. Four different Zips posted a multi-hit game in the 10-hit effort.

AKRON NOTES

Akron (8-9) is on a four game skid as the Zips fell below .500 for the first time this season with a 13-7 loss to Pittsburgh in midweek action.
The Zips are averaging 5.23 runs per contest and have scored eight or more runs on five occasions.
After recording 10 hit against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Akron has now posted hits in double-figures in seven contests.
Havrilak and junior Daulton Mosbarger are tied at three home runs apiece for second in the MAC.
Junior Kris Simonton has compiled a team-high 23 hits and .348 batting average after starting in all but one contest.
The Akron offense is advantageous at the plate, batting .488 (21-of-43) with runners on third and less than two out. The Zips have a .457 clip in successfully advancing runners with the help of 14 sacrifice hits and four sacrifice flies.
Akron ranks second in the MAC in fielding percentage at .970 as the team has posted five errorless games.
The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 5.14 after entering the pair of midweek games with a 4.23 ERA.
Brubaker has posted a team-high 20 strikeouts to eight walks. The Zips have fanned 87 and walked 48 for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.91, the second-best in the MAC.
Sophomore Dom Iero leads the team with 14 RBI, 10 of which came in the first six games of the season.
Senior reliever Matt LaRocca recorded his third save this season against Davidson to lead the Akron bullpen in saves. LaRocca has seven strikeouts and one walk in 5.1 innings pitched. Mosbarger follows with two saves and has thrown 4.1 scoreless innings.
UA has stolen 20 bases in 26 attempts this season and is led by Simonton and Havrilak with five apiece.
Akron posted a .265 batting average in the Coastal Carolina Invitational against Coastal Carolina, Michigan State and Michigan. The team's season average now sits at .259.

SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN

The Eagles are coming off five-straight cancellations and last saw action on March 11 when they dropped a pair of games against Indiana.
EMU is coached by first-year skipper Mark Van Ameyde. The Eagles posted a 19-34 record last season including a 6-21 finish in the MAC to take sixth place in the West Division.
The Eagles are batting .244 as a team while the pitching staff has a collective ERA of 4.68.
Mitchell McGeein leads the Eagles at the plate, batting .338 after starting in all 18 contests. McGeein has collected 23 hits including a team-high five doubles and six home runs to go with 12 RBI.
McGeein is the only Eagle batting over .300 as Jordan Peterson trails close behind with a .297 clip in 18 starts. Peterson has posted three RBI and 19 hits.
The Sunday starter, Jake Andrews, owns a team-best 1.24 ERA after throwing a team-high 29.0 innings. Andrews has fanned 16 and walked six and has held opponents to a .234 average.
Reliever Sam Delaplane has struck out a team-best 17 batters while walking seven in 13.0 innings on the mound.

THE ROTATION

Valek is coming off a strong outing against Davidson where the southpaw allowed one unearned run in his 6.0 innings on the mound. He picked up his second win of the season after holding the Wildcats to four hits while fanning one and walking none. On the season, Valek has twirled 27.1 innings and has made five starts. The junior has accrued an ERA of 5.27.
Brubaker has thrown a team-high 28.0 innings after making five starts. In his time on the bump, the junior struck out 20 and walked eight for an average of 6.43 strikeouts per game. His 3.21 ERA leads all Akron starters as he has given up 26 hits and 10 earned runs.
Pusateri is slated to make just his second start of the season after senior LHP Pat Dyer, who has started in four Sunday games this season, left after taking a line drive to the head in his last start at Davidson. Pusateri provided long relief following Dyer's exit, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing six hits and three runs. His lone start of the season came against Charlotte. The right-hander pitched 6.0 innings, serving up six hits and three earned runs while walking a pair and fanning three. Pusateri has made five appearances and thrown 21.1 total innings with one save.

STAYING CONSISTENT

Mosbarger saw an eight-game hit streak come to an end in Tuesday's contest at West Virginia. Despite breaking the streak, the outfielder/designated hitter has hit safely in 14 of the Zips' 17 games this season. His streak includes six multi-hit games and three multi-RBI performances.
Havrilak has now reached base safely in all 17 of the Zips' games to open the season with 20 hits and a team-high 12 walks. He saw a five-game hit streak snap at Michigan, as he batted 8-of-18 in that span (.444). In the last two games, Havrilak has batted 5-for-9 with six RBI and three runs scored.

CLEANING UP NICELY

Simonton has started at cleanup in 16 of the Zips' 17 games so far. He currently owns a team-best batting average of .348 and is leading in hits with 23. The junior has posted six multi-hit games, including three three-hit performances. The junior has collected 10 RBI.

ROOKIE ZIPS GET A STARTING NOD

In Akron's midweek game against Pittsburgh, two freshmen posted their first collegiate start. Left-handed pitcher Josh Lapiana started on the mound and pitched 4.0 innings, allowing eight runs, six earned while walking three and striking out one.
Infielder Alex Dirienzo also started in the game and used the first pitch he saw to launch a triple to right-center field. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in his debut.

SEEING DOUBLE

After a home run against West Virginia and a triple at Pittsburgh, Havrilak has tied Mosbarger with seven extra-base hits. In a three-game series at Davidson, the outfielder completed the natural cycle with the progression of the three-game series. His extra base hits have helped Havrilak more than double his RBI count in the last three games, as he added seven RBI for a season total of 12. Havrilak has posted 35 total bases and owns a team-best .583 slugging percentage.
Mosbarger has scattered his seven extra-base hits throughout the season. When leading off an inning, Mosbarger is batting .355 (11-of-31) as two of his home runs have come at leadoff in the top of the first.

COMING IN HOT

Junior Gerrad Rohan started in his first game of the season on Feb. 28 against Belmont. The junior infielder has now received the starting nod in every game since and has hit safely in seven of his ten games with two multi-RBI performances and two two-hit performances.

OFF TO A SCORING START

The Zips have scored in the first inning in seven of the ten games, accounting for 15 of Akron's 49 runs in that span. Each contest of the three-game Davidson series featured a solo homer in the top of the first inning. As the leadoff hitter, Mosbarger clubbed a solo homer in the first at-bat of each game of the Davdison doubleheader on March 14. One homer came off the first pitch of the game. The next day against the Wildcats, Havrilak knocked a solo bomb in the top of the first.

ON DECK

The Zips are back in action on Tuesday, March 24 for the home opener at Lee R. Jackson Field against Youngstown State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. Akron will then travel to take on Ohio State on Wednesday for a 5:05 p.m. first pitch at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.