Baseball Set to Take on Western Michigan and Canisius in Midweek Action

April 20 | Baseball

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Akron vs. WMU & Canisius Game Notes

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron baseball team (18-19) is set to take on Western Michigan (14-21) on Tuesday, April 21 in a non-conference tilt at 3 p.m. at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

The Zips will then return to Akron's Lee R. Jackson Field to host Canisius (18-22) on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Gameday Information

Tuesday, April 21 • 3 p.m. - All Pro Freight Stadium - Live Stats

Western Michigan: TBA
Akron: Fr., LHP Josh Lapiana (0-3, 6.20 ERA)

Wednesday, April 22 • 3 p.m. - Lee R. Jackson Field - Live Stats | Video

Canisius: TBA

Akron: TBA

FOLLOW ALONG

Live stats will be available for both games. Additionally, a live video stream will be available for Wednesday's game against Canisius with David Suntup on play-by-play and former Akron infielder James Sheltrown on color analysis via GoZips.com.

SERIES ACTION

The Zips and the Broncos will meet for the 47th time. Akron has posted a 20-26 record against WMU and is 5-1 against the Broncos under head coach Rick Rembielak.
Last season, Akron defeated Western Michigan 8-2 at All Pro Freight Stadium.
This will be the 37th meeting on the diamond between the Zips and the Golden Griffins and the second meeting this season. Akron owns a 25-11 overall record against Canisius.
The Zips fell to the Golden Griffins, 3-2, after UA got behind 3-0 in the third inning and fell short in a comeback effort on April 1 this season. Joey Havrilak went 2-for-4 in the game with Kris Simonton and Brian Lees posting one RBI apiece. Freshman Josh Lapiana pitched 4.0 scoreless innings of relief in the game after starter Josh Davis twirled the first 3.0 frames and fanned six.

LAST TIME OUT

Akron dropped a three-game series against Mid-American Conference East Division opponent Miami (Ohio).
UA's lone victory against the RedHawks came in game one on Friday behind starting pitcher John Valek III who struck out a career-high 12 batters and fanned one. Valek allowed just four hits and one earned run in 7.0 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, Joey Havrilak clubbed a three-run homer to fuel the Zips' offensive effort as part of a 2-for-4 performance.
In game two, the Zips fell 11-9 after a ninth-inning surge from the RedHawks. Akron entered the ninth with a one-run advantage. Miami plated three runs in the frame to take the lead.
Akron stranded the tying run on first base in its half of the inning to hand the RedHawks the vicoty.
The Zips clubbed two homers with Brian Lees recording his first collegiate home run while Havrilak parked his second homer in as many games. A two-run stand-up triple from Daulton Mosbarger also highlighted the 14-hit offensive effort.
Game three was a 13-inning thriller with Akron again posting 14 hits. However, the Zips count not push a run across with two runners on in the bottom of the 13th to contest a Miami home run in the top half of the inning as Akron fell 8-7.
Starter Jon Pusateri pitched 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run while Mason Mamarella went 3-for-7 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Mosbarger collected a game-high two RBI and launched a pair of doubles along with a sacrifice fly while Havrilak drew a game-high three walks and recorded a hit and an RBI.

AKRON NOTES

Akron remains tied with crosstown rival Kent State for first place in the MAC East as both teams have posted a 9-6 record in conference action.
Over the weekend, the Zips improved to fifth in the conference in batting average at .276, remained at third in ERA at 3.89 and slipped to third in fielding percentage with a .964 clip.
In conference games only, Akron is second in both batting average (.298) and ERA (2.78).
Fourteen of Akron's 37 games have come down to one run, accounting for 10 of Akron's 19 losses.
The Zips have scored 56 of their 190 runs between the first and second innings.
Joey Havrilak and Dom Iero are the only Zips to appear in all 37 games this season. They have each started every contest.
The Zips' pitching staff ranks in the top four in the conference in 10 categories including ERA (3.89), opposing batting average (.250), wins (18), strikeouts (254), saves (11), hits allowed (306), runs allowed (173), earned runs allowed (139), walks allowed (103) and triples allowed (eight).
Akron has walked the fewest batters in the conference at 103. In 21 of Akron's 37 contests, the pitching staff has combined to walk no more than two batters. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has fanned 254 batters.
The Akron bullpen has collected 11 saves this season. Seven of them belong to closer Matt LaRocca who has pitched 12.2 innings of relief and has struck out 20 batters.
Redshirt senior outfielder Joey Havrilak leads Akron at the plate with a .353 batting average (49-of-139). Havrilak also leads the team with a .452 on-base percentage and is first in the league in slugging percentage at .554.
Havrilak also surpassed Dom Iero as Akron's RBI leader over the weekend. Havrilak collected six on the weekend to bring his total to 26. Iero is second with 23 while Daulton Mosbarger trails close behind with 22.
Havrilak has struck out only 22 times in 171 plate appearances. He has also drawn 22 walks.
After taking a starting role on Sundays due to an injury to Pat Dyer, redshirt senior right-hander Jon Pusateri is fourth in the conference in ERA at 2.42 and is holding batters to a .193 clip, the second-best mark in the conference. He has allowed only 37 hits in 52.0 innings.
Junior left-hander John Valek III has tossed the second-most innings in the conference at 66.2.
Zips pitchers have held opponents to two runs or less on 13 occasions and are 11-2 in those games.
Joey Havrilak and Daulton Mosbarger each have 15 extra-base hits on the season to combine for 30 of Akron's 69 extra-base hits. Mosbarger leads the team in doubles (10) and Havrilak leads in triples (three) and home runs (five).

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN

The Broncos own a 14-21 record and are 6-9 in the MAC.
The squad bats a collective .248, led by Kurt Hoekstra with a .369 clip, 29 runs scored, 52 hits and 28 RBI. Brett Sunde follows with a .287 average, 37 hits including 11 doubles and 21 RBI.
The WMU pitching staff owns a collective ERA of 4.81. Gabe Berman leads the bullpen with a 3.21 ERA in 28.0 innings and 18 appearances. He has allowed just 10 earned runs and is third on the team with 30 fanned batters to just 11 walks.
Their last time out, the Broncos dropped a three-game series against Bowling Green, 2-1.

SCOUTING CANISIUS

The Golden Griffins come into the match-up sporting an 18-22 record.
Canisius has power at the plate as it has clubbed 108 extra-base hits including 71 doubles, 15 triples and 22 home runs. The Golden Griffins combine for a team slugging percentage of .395 and an on base percentage of .376.
The duo of Conor Panas and Jake Lumley lead the Canisius offense. Panas has registered a .338 average, 34 runs, 51 hits and 27 RBI. Lumley is batting .335 with 27 runs, 52 hits and 29 RBI.
The Golden Griffins average 6.3 runs per game and bat .272 as a team.
The pitching staff has accrued an ERA of 5.27.

ON THE MOUND

UA's probable starter Josh Lapiana, a freshman left-hander, will enter Tuesday's contest with a 6.20 ERA and a record of 0-3. He has logged 24.2 innings and is slated to make his fourth start.
Lapiana has made five appearances out of the bullpen including 4.0 scoreless innings of relief in the first meeting between the Zips and the Golden Griffins this season.
In his last start, Lapiana allowed two runs, one earned and four hits over 6.1 innings pitched against Dayton on April 15. Lapiana was tagged with the loss after receiving little run support as the Zips fell, 2-1. His 6.1 innings pitched against Dayton was a season-high for the freshman.

ENDING THE HOME RUN DROUGHT

Prior to the weekend series at home against Miami (Ohio), Akron had recorded just one home run in the last 19 games. Additionally, the Zips had not launched a homer at Lee Jackson Field since a May 7, 2011 contest against Bowling Green.
Joey Havrilak ended the drought with a three-run bomb in game one against the RedHawks. He followed it up with another homer in game two.
Sophomore catcher Brian Lees also belted his first collegiate home run in game two against the RedHawks, his coming on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the fifth inning.

RACKING UP THE K's

Akron moved into the top-five in the MAC in strikeouts with 254 so far this season. The Zips are led by junior righty JT Brubaker with 53 strikeouts who is also fourth in the conference.
Since opening MAC play on March 22 against Eastern Michigan, the Zips' pitching staff has recorded double-figures in strikeouts in nine of the last 18 games, including five of the last seven.
Junior left-hander John Valek III fanned 12 RedHawks in the Zips' most recent series and combined with a pair of relievers to post 14 total in the tilt.
Valek's 12 strikeouts is the most by a single pitcher since the 2006 season, while the 14 total are the most the staff has posted in a single game since 2009.

300 CLUB

After going 7-for-16 (.438) in the last week, redshirt freshman outfielder Mason Mamarella saw his average rise from .270 to .304 to break .300 for the first time this season. Overall, Mamarella is batting 24-of-79. He is also averaging .333 (18-of-54) in conference games after making just two starts prior to MAC play.
Redshirt senior outfielder Joey Havrilak (.353) and sophomore outfielder Daulton Mosbarger (.304) are the only other Zips batting over .300.

STREAKING

Joey Havrilak has reached base safely in all but one of the Zips' 37 contests for a team-high .452 on base percentage. He is currently on an 18-game reached base streak to match his season-opening 18-game streak. Havrilak has also hit safely in 30 games, including a team-leading 14 multi-hit games.
Brian Lees is close behind as the sophomore catcher is riding a 17-game reached base streak while junior Kris Simonton has reached safely in 16-straight games.

VALEK NAMED ZIPS' STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Junior starting pitcher John Valek III was named the Zips' Student-Athlete of the Week for April 20.
After pitching at least 7.0 innings for the fifth-consecutive outing, Valek struck out a career-high 12 batters while only walking one to lead Akron to a 7-4 win over Miami (Ohio). Valek allowed two runs, one earned, and held the RedHawks to just four hits. The southpaw struck out the side swinging in the top of the second frame and retired 12-straight batters between the second and fifth inning.
Valek's 12 strikeouts on Friday are the most recorded by an Akron pitcher in a single game since Ross Liersemann struck out 13 in a complete game against Ball State on March 24, 2006.

HEAT CHECK

Throughout the last 12 games, redshirt senior infielder Matt LaRocca has seen his batting average climb from .159 to .250. Sixteen of his 23 total hits have come in that span as he has recorded a hit in 10 of the last 12 games, including five extra-base hits and one home run.

TWO-WAY PLAYERS

In addition to Matt LaRocca's hot streak at the plate, the redshirt senior picked up his seventh save in game one against Northern Illinois. LaRocca has tossed 12.2 total innings as the closer and has fanned 20 batters while issuing just two walks.
Junior Daulton Mosbarger is second on the team in batting average (.304), slugging percentage (.472), on base percentage (.416), runs scored (26) and hits (42) and is third in RBI at 22. He has also contributed 12.2 innings of relief and leads the bullpen with a 2.84 ERA. He has made 13 appearances and has picked up two saves this season.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Akron ranks third in the MAC in stolen bases with 53 after picking up seven in the past week. The squad averages 1.43 stolen bases per game. Akron's 53 stolen bases have come on 64 attempts. Junior Kris Simonton leads Akron with 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts while Mason Mamarella has 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Ten different Zips have recorded at least one stolen base this season.

STEPPING UP

After starting at second base in each of the first 13 games this season, sophomore infielder Dom Iero moved to third base where he started in 13 games and has now started the last 11 games at shortstop to cover for injured Zips. Iero has far and away the most assists on the team with 114 and has a .969 fielding percentage with just five errors in 37 games.

DYER RETURNS

After exiting a March 15 contest against Davidson due to a concussion sustained after being struck by a line drive, right-handed pitcher Pat Dyer made his first appearance back on the mound in a game against Northern Illinois on April 12. Dyer pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win. He allowed three hits and struck out three to improve to 3-0.

TRIPLE THREAT VS. TOLEDO

In the Zips' second consecutive Mid-American Conference series win starting pitchers John Valek III, JT Brubaker and Jon Pusateri combined for 23 total innings pitched without an earned run in a three-game set against Toledo. In their 23 innings pitched, the trio held the Rockets to just 11 total hits. Each of the three pitchers tied or set a new single game career record for strikeouts as they posted 24 total on the weekend. The 24 strikeouts came with just three walks for an 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. They led the pitching staff to hold Toledo to a .170 batting average on the weekend.
The trio has been named the Zips' Student-Athletes of the Week for their performances.

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 launched a triple to right-center field on his first pitch. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in his debut.

NEARING 600

After leading the Zips to 28 victories last season, head coach Rick Rembielak started this year's campaign 27 wins shy of reaching 600 in his career. He stands 78-123 at Akron and 591-516-1 in his 20th season overall as a head coach.

ON DECK

The Zips travel to take on MAC East foe Ohio for a three-game series at Bob Wren Stadium. The series will open with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday, April 24 and will continue with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.