The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Bowling Green
Akron Set To Battle Bowling Green At Lee Jackson Field
April 19 | Softball
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Bowling Green at Akron Game Notes: 4/20/18
Bowling Green at Akron
April 20-21
Akron, Ohio | Lee R. Jackson Field
April 20 vs. Ohio | 3 p.m.
April 21 vs. Ohio | 1 p.m.
April 21 vs. Ohio | 3 p.m.
Game Information
Live Stats:Â GoZips.com
WATCH: Zips Digital Network
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What's Ahead
The Zips return to the friendly confines of Lee R. Jackson Field this weekend for their sixth Mid-American Conference series of the season as Akron hosts MAC East opponent, Bowling Green, on April 20-21. The Zips and Falcons are scheduled to compete in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 20, before meeting on Saturday, April 21, in doubleheader action at 1 p.m.Â
Scouting The Falcons
With three weeks left in the 2018 softball season, Bowling Green visits Akron, Ohio with an overall record two games above .500 (21-19, .525) heading into the weekend of competition. Prior to the start of league play, the Falcons compiled a 17-10 non-conference record, which included a six-game win streak to start the season. As it stands, BGSU owns a 4-9 record inside Mid-American Conference play and has won its last three games. The Falcons swept Buffalo in two contests and took one of three games against both Miami and Ball State. However, BGSU has been swept in a three-game series by two MAC West opponents, Western Michigan and Toledo.Â
The Bowling Green offense has posted a .300 team batting average through 40 contests including 318 hits, 47 doubles, 7 triples, 34 home runs and 177 runs scored in 2018. Four Falcons have posted a batting average over .300 on the season while playing and starting in all 40 games including, Aspen Searle (.368), Alex Sorgi (.364), Kali Holcomb (.327), and Sammy Dees (.308). Searle and Sorgi rank 12th and 13th in the conference in batting average (.368 and .364) while Searle also ranks third in doubles (11), fourth in hits, sixth in total bases (82), ninth in runs scored (29), and 12th in slugging percentage (.617). Along with one of the top batting averages in the MAC, Sorgi has posted 48 hits in 132 at-bats, scored 25 runs, and owns a team-leading 16 steals in 21 attempts, second-most in the league. Holcomb is the Falcons top run producer in the BG lineup hitting .327 (37-for-113), a team-high 38 RBI, eight home runs, and seven doubles. Dees owns a .308 batting average, 17 RBI, eight doubles, and 19 runs scored.Â
Meredith Miller and Brooke Parker have dominated inside the circle for Bowling Green. Miller has compiled a 11-11 record and 2.97 earned run average in 24 games and 23 starts. In 125.0 innings pitched, Miller has given up 107 hits, 66 runs (53 earned), 130 strikeouts, 41 walks, and is limiting the opposition to a .230 batting average, which is fifth best in the MAC. In 22 games and 15 starts, Parker has earned a 9-6 record inside the circle. Parker has tossed seven complete games in 96.1 innings, surrendered 98 hits, 61 runs (50 earned), 55 K's and 50 base-on-balls. Â
Series HistoryÂ
Since the inaugural meeting between Akron and Bowling Green in 1980, the Zips and Falcons have since met 83 times between the chalk lines. Bowling Green holds the advantage in the all-time series history with a 54-28 record against Akron. The Zips have won five of the last eight contests against the Falcons dating back to 2014.Â
2018 Zip BreakdownÂ
Under the guidance of 12th-year head coach, Julie Jones, the Zips are amidst the 42nd season of competition in 2018 after ending the 2017 season in the Mid-American Conference tournament for the fourth straight year and a 27-30 overall record. In 2018, Akron returns seven letterwinners from a season ago and welcomes seven newcomers to the squad, including four transfers and three true freshmen.Â
Through 37 games, redshirt freshman Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.), redshirt junior Kimberly Rodriguez (Las Vegas, Nevada), junior Maddy Clowdus (Eastvale, Calif.), and senior Cassie Gillespie (Sylvania, Ohio) pace the Akron offense posting a combined .305 average (106-of-348) and 29 RBI. Jascoe is the Zips leader in the hits category going 37-for-109 for a team-high .339 average in 37 starts, while also posting a team-high nine doubles and 52 total bases. In 34 starts at first base, Gillespie is hitting a career-best .329 with 27 hits in 82 at-bats which included an ten-game hit streak and four multi-hit performances. Gillespie also leads the squad defensively with a .974 fielding percentage, 184 putouts, and five assists. Rodriguez is averaging .274 from the dish and owns a team-high .500 slugging percentage while the speedster has scored a team-high 14 runs, totaled 42 bases, hit four home runs, and is 13-for-16 in stolen base attempts. Clowdus, the designated player for the Zips, has posted a .260 average (19-for-74), has scored seven runs, hit four doubles, four home runs, and five RBI.Â
Inside the circle, freshmen Mikayla Newland (Chillicothe, Ohio), Kayla Kmett (San Clemente, Calif.), senior Kooper Vertz (Dilsboro, Ind.), and freshman Shaye DeLeonardis have tossed a combined 217.1 innings, own a 7.34 earned run average and have recorded 109 strikeouts. Kmett owns a 1-17 record for Akron on the rubber and has compiled a staff-low 5.95 ERA, thrown four complete games, given up 137 hits, 110 runs (81 earned) and struck out 44 batters. Vertz, the lone senior on the staff stands 0-9 in 24 games and 10 starts. In 61.1 innings of work, Vertz has tallied an 8.79 ERA on 105 hits, 90 runs (77 earned) and struck out 35. Since joining the team, DeLeonardis has pitched 11.2 innings, given up 33 hits, and allowed 30 runs.Â
Jones named Gillespie and Lakins team captains for the 2018 season.Â
Zips Tidbits
- Cassie Gillespie recorded a team-best ten-game hit streak (3/31-4/13) which included four multi-hit contests. Sydney Jascoe held a seven-game hit streak (3/30-4/8) at one point this season and Maddy Clowdus (2/24-3/11) and Caitlin Gambone (2/17-2/24) recorded six-game hit streaks earlier year.Â
- Gillespie has currently reached base safely in a team-high 11 straight games. Kimberly Rodriguez recorded a nine-game streak and Jascoe reached safely in eight straight, a season-high for both Zips.
- Sydney Jascoe leads the Zips with 10 multi-hit performances while Jascoe, Gambone, Holzman, and Rodriguez have all posted a three-hit contest.Â
- Jessie Holzman tallied a season-high three RBI in a contest and Cassie Gillespie, Laura Lakins, Kayla Wulf, Rodriguez have each garnered at least one two-RBI performance. Gillespie has a team-best three multi-RBI contests.Â
- Sydney Jascoe is hitting a team-high .360 with the bases empty as the Akron lead-off hitter and .310 with runners on the base path. Cassie Gillespie is hitting .421 with runners in scoring position.Â
- With two outs, Caitlin Gambone has recorded a .364 average (12-for-33).Â
- Shaye DeLeonardis, Kooper Vertz, and Kayla Kmett are fly ball pitchers forcing 11.4, 9.1 and 9.4 fly ball outs per contests, while Mikayla Newland utilizes the ground ball out recording 9.4 per ballgame.Â
- Kimberly Rodriguez hit a home run in back-to-back days against Toledo (3/24-25) for her second and third of the season.Â
- Shaye DeLeonardis made her Akron debut against Toledo (3/24).Â
- Kayla Kmett set a new career-high in strikeouts per game (6) against Toledo (3/24).Â
- Rodriguez went a perfect 3-for-3 against Toledo (3/25) with a home run. The first three-hit game of her career.Â
- In the three-game series against the Rockets, Rodriguez played second base, center field, right field, and as the designated player and recorded 11 putouts and three assists (.933 fld%).Â
- Kooper Vertz tallied a career-best 6 K's against Ball State (3/30).Â
- Against Ball State on 3/30, Caitlin Gambone went 3-for-3 and Sydney Jascoe went 3-for-4 combining to register 2/3 of Akron's total hits (9) in the contest.Â
- Akron earned its first MAC win against Western Michigan on April 8 by a score of 5-4.
- Kayla Kmett earned her first collegiate win in an Akron uniform against Western Michigan (4/8).Â
- Cassie Gillespie hit her first home run of the season and third of her career against Ohio (4/13).Â
Where They Rank (as of 4/19)
- Sydney Jascoe's .339 batting average ranks 27th in the league and Cassie Gillespie's .329 ranks 32nd.
- Jascoe is tied for 11th in most doubles in the conference with nine.
- Rodriguez is tied for sixth in league play for hit by pitches (7) and 12 in walks (17).
- Caitlin Gambone is sixth in the league in SAC bunts (8), while Laura Lakins is rated eighth (7) and Gillespie is tied for 10th (6).Â
- Defensively, Cassie Gillespie ranks t-seventh in the league in chances (194), sixth in putouts (184), while Caitlin Gambone ranks 13th in assists (62).Â
- Rodriguez ranks third in the conference in stolen bases with 13 while Gillespie fifth in the MAC with nine.
- Kayla Kmett ranks sixth in appearances (26), 11th in games finished (8), 11th in innings pitched (95.1) and games started (17), and ranks tied for T-13th in the MAC in strikeouts looking (16).Â
Up Next
Akron closes out the non-conference portion of the 2018 season on Wednesday, April 25, when the Zips travel to Dayton, Ohio for a doubleheader with the Dayton Flyers starting at 2 p.m. at UD Softball Stadium.
