The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
University of Dayton
Zips Softball Closes Out Non-Conference Play At Dayton
April 24 | Softball
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Akron at Dayton Game Notes: 4/25/18
Akron at Dayton
April 25
Dayton, Ohio | UD Softball Field
April 25 vs. Dayton | 2 p.m.
April 25 vs. Dayton | 4 p.m.
Game Information
Live Stats:Â GoZips.com
WATCH:Â GoZips.com
What's Ahead
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.
Scouting The Flyers
Heading into their final series outside of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Dayton owns a 23-20 overall record. In their 27 non-conference contests prior to the start of league play, the Flyers compiled an 11-15 record.
The Dayton offense has posted a .277 team batting average through 43 contests including 310 hits, 61 doubles, 6 triples, 18 home runs and 190 runs scored in 2018. Four Flyers have posted a batting average over .300 on the season including, Kyle Davidson (.366), Kelly Fitzgerald (.364), Kailee Budicin(.321), and Abby Ehrenborg (.312).Â
Recording a team-high 48 hits in 131 at-bats for a team-best .366 average is Davidson. Davidson has tallied a team-best 17 doubles, 36 runs scored, 17 RBI, 14 walks, and is a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. Fitzgerald has recorded a .333 average by way of 20 hits in 60 at-bats with 15 RBI. In all 43 starts, Budicin has compiled 43 hits, seven doubles, 16 RBI, and a team-best 15 walks. Ehrenborg is the top run producer for the Flyers by leading the team in home runs (7) and RBI (30), along with five doubles and 33 strikeouts.Â
The Flyers pitching staff has earned a 3.19 earned run average, given up 295 hits, 165 runs, and struck out 236Â batters in 283.1 innings of work. Dayton has three players on the roster who have compiled 269 of the 283 innings pitched on the 2018 season in Manda Cash, Jessica Weaver, and Jessica Gilliam. Cash, the Flyers ace in the circle, owns a 10-6 record when toeing the rubber. In 125.2 innings of work, Cash has given up 99 hits, 42 runs (30 earned), struck out 121, walked just 45, and compiled the 54th lowest ERA in the nation (1.67). Despite a 4.67 ERA, Gilliam has tallied an 8-6 record in 21 games and 14 starts while giving up 83 hits, 54 runs, 44 earned runs, and 46 strikeouts. Weaver, who has claimed the pitching staffs second-lowest ERA (3.57), has tossed four complete games in 78.1 innings of action, given up 88 hits, 53 runs and 40 earned.Â
Series HistoryÂ
Akron and Dayton have met in-between the chalk lines on the diamond 29 times since the first match-up in 1980. The series between the Zips and Flyers is tight, but UD owns the slight advantage in the all-time series, 15-14, heading into the doubleheader.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 40 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 .298 average (114-of-383) and 32 RBI. Jascoe is the Zips leader in the hits category going 39-for-119 for a team-high .328 average in 40 starts, while also posting a team-high 11 doubles and 56 total bases. In 37 starts at first base, Gillespie is hitting a career-best .315 with 28 hits in 89 at-bats which included a ten-game hit streak and four multi-hit performances. Gillespie also leads the squad defensively with a .973 fielding percentage, 208 putouts, and five assists. Rodriguez is averaging .277 from the dish and owns a team-high .521 slugging percentage while the speedster has scored a team-high 17 runs, totaled 49 bases, a team-leading five home runs, and is 14-for-17 in stolen base attempts. Clowdus, the designated player for the Zips, has posted a .259 average (21-for-81), has scored seven runs, hit six 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 238.1 innings, own a 7.08 earned run average and have recorded 120 strikeouts. Kmett owns a 1-19 record for Akron on the rubber and has compiled a staff-low 5.85 ERA, thrown five complete games, given up 149 hits, 1121runs (90 earned) and struck out 50 batters. Vertz, the lone senior on the staff stands 0-10 in 26 games and 11 starts. In 70.0 innings of work, Vertz has tallied an 8.10 ERA on 116 hits, 95 runs (81 earned) and struck out 40. 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, a .519 batting average, 14 hits, three doubles, one home run, six RBI, 20 total bases, and six walks. 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 reached base safely in a team-high 11 straight games for an on-base percentage of .600. 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 11 multi-hit performances while Jasoce, Gambone, Holzman, and Rodriguez have all posted a three-hit contest.Â
- Jessie Holzman tallied a season-high three RBI in a contest while 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 .341 with the bases empty as the Akron lead-off hitter. Cassie Gillespie is hitting .421 with runners in scoring position and .371 with runners on the base path.Â
- With two outs, Caitlin Gambone has recorded a .333 average (12-for-36).Â
- Shaye DeLeonardis, Kooper Vertz, and Kayla Kmett are fly ball pitchers forcing 11.4, 9.1 and 9.23 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.
- Kooper Vertz strikes out a team-best 4.3 batters per game.Â
- 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
- Maddy Clowdus recorded the first multi-hit game of her Akron career with two doubles against BG (4/21).
- Kayla Kmett recorded a season-high 11 groundball outs against Bowling Green (4/21) including setting down seven straight courtesy of a groundout.Â
Where They Rank (as of 4/24)
- Sydney Jascoe's .328 batting average ranks 32nd in the league and Cassie Gillespie's .315 ranks 40th.
- Jascoe is tied for seventh in most doubles in the conference with 11.
- Rodriguez is tied for seventh in league play for hit by pitches (7).
- 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 seventh in the league in chances (219), seventh in putouts (208), while Caitlin Gambone ranks eighth in assists (73).Â
- Rodriguez ranks third in the conference in stolen bases with 14 while Gillespie fifth in the MAC with 10.
- Kayla Kmett ranks sixth in appearances (29), 11th in games finished (8), 10th in innings pitched (107.2), rated 11th in games started (19), and ranks tied for 13th in the MAC in strikeouts looking (18).Â
Up Next
The final three-game Mid-American Conference series at Lee R. Jackson Field to close out the home portion of the 2018 schedule is set for April 27-28 against Miami. Saturday's doubleheader versus the RedHawks is the Zips annual Strike Out Cancer day as well as senior day with a short recognition prior to the start of the games.
