The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Canisius
The Zips Break The .500 Mark With A Pair of Wins At George Washington Invite
March 12 | Softball
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Box Score Game One (PDF) | Box Score Game Two (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – A combined four hits given up in two games by senior Erin Seiler (Bowling Green, Ohio) and freshman Kelly Hysong (Canton, Ohio) pushes Akron over the .500 mark for the first time this year, 11-10, with a pair of wins over Canisius, 6-1, and George Washington, 1-0, Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
"We played well today. Our pitching staff did a great job of controlling the games and our defense played well behind them," said head coach Julie Jones. "We need to keep working hard and gaining momentum as we get closer to MAC play."
Seiler (9-6) and Hysong (2-0) were equally dominant in the circle for the Zips. The senior completed her fifth complete game in as many starts and 11th of the campaign. Seiler allowed just two hits and one blemish in the game with the solo home run while striking out seven and walking one. The freshman picked up her second win in three starts on the rubber. Hysong tossed a two-hit shutout in six innings while fanning three. Seiler picked up her first save of the 2016 campaign finishing off George Washington in the bottom of the seventh inning and struck out three.
The Zips did not waste anytime getting the bats off their shoulders with two hits and a run in the top of the first inning against Canisius (4-15). Junior Savannah Fruin (Delray Beach, Fla.) led off the game with a single, advanced over to second, and moved to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, junior Carley Childress (Belknap, Ill.) ripped a shot out to left-center field driving in the RBI and allowing the speedy shortstop to cruise in to third with a triple.
Following a solo shot from the Golden Griffens to tie up the game in the second inning, Akron regained the lead, 2-1, in the third. Junior Alyssa Nicholas (Cortland, Ohio) doubled down the left field line and later stole third. Standing 60 feet away from home, the junior took off for the plate on a pitch in the dirt and scored.
Akron added three insurance runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. After starting the inning with a single, sophomore Cassie Gillespie (Sylvania, Ohio) advanced to third on Nicholas's second double of the morning. Childress drove in her second and third run of the day with a two-bagger and later scored from third on a wild pitch.
Childress picked up where she left off in game one and continued to rake against George Washington (8-8). The shortstop doubled to lead off the fourth and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Freshman Gabrielle Fredericks (New Philadelphia, Ohio) sent a long fly ball to left field, giving Childress plenty of time to tag up from third and score the eventual game-winning run of the contest against host George Washington.
On the day, Childress went 5-for-6, drove in three runs and scored twice en route to the Zips dual wins this afternoon.
The Zips conclude tournament play tomorrow, March 13, at the final day of the George Washington Invitational. Akron faces Gardner-Webb tomorrow at 10 a.m. and Canisius for the second time in the tournament at 12:30 p.m.
