Akron Prepares For Miami In Final Homestand

Friday, April 27

Akron, Ohio

3 PM

University of Akron

Miami University (OH)

April 26 | Softball

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Miami at Akron Game Notes: 4/27/18

Miami at Akron
April 27-28
Akron, Ohio | Lee R. Jackson Field

April 27 vs. Miami | 3 p.m.
April 28 vs. Miami | 1 p.m.
April 28 vs. Miami | 3 p.m.

Game Information
Live Stats: GoZips.com
WATCH: Zips Digital Network

What's Ahead
The final three-game Mid-American Conference series at Lee R. Jackson Field that will 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.

Scouting the RedHawks
With six games remaining in the 2018 season in a two-week span, Miami has compiled an overall record of 20-21 through 41 games. Prior to the start of league play, the RedHawks earned a 13-11 after 24 non-conference games which was highlighted by two wins over Maryland from the Big 10 Conference. Since the opening weekend of Mid-American Conference play, Miami won two season series against Northern Illinois and Kent State, claimed one game in three series against Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green and Ohio, and was swept by Central Michigan to total a 7-10 MAC record.

The RedHawks offense has posted a .248 team batting average through 41 contests including 264 hits, 48 doubles, 5 triples, 22 home runs and 155 runs scored in 2018. Only two members of the RedHawks lineup are averaging over .300 from the plate in Megan Wurts and Ashton Slone, however, four players have tallied over 20 RBI to help pace the offensive production. Wurts owns the top batting average for Miami as she has posted a .323 average by way of hitting a team-high 43 hits in 133 at-bats. Along with a team-high batting average, her .564 slugging percentage, .413 on-base percentage, eight doubles, and 75 total bases are also a team-best. In 41 games and 38 starts, Slone has garnered a .302 average on the strength of 35 hits, six doubles, four home runs, and 22 RBI. While hitting just .266 on the season in 41 starts, Kat Lee still leads the RedHawks in the RBI category with 24 and doubles (7). The fourth Miami player with over 20 runs batted in is Johniann Wahl with 22 RBI on 29 hits in 113 at-bats (.257).

Courtney Vierstra has been the workhorse for Miami inside the circle in 2018. The RedHawks ace has compiled a 15-12 record with a 2.34 ERA in 20 starts and 34 appearances. In 152.2 innings pitched, Vierstra has tossed 10 complete games, two shutouts, given up 160 hits, 63 runs (51 earned), and has an efficient strikeout-to-walk ration of 139-to-47. The RedHawks No. 2 on the pitching staff, Shannon Hohman, has picked up four wins for Miami in 14 starts and 21 games. Hohman has hurled 56.2 innings, given up 73 hits, 50 runs, and 41 earned runs to total a 5.06 earned run average. The opposition is hitting .308 against her.

Series History
Heading into the Mid-American Conference East Divisional showdown between Akron and Miami, the two programs have met 76 times on the field since the inaugural contest in 1982. The Zips have the advantage in the all-time series by two games, 39-37, including a 16-14 record in Akron, Ohio at Lee R. Jackson Field.

2018 Zip Breakdown
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.

Through 42 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-125 for a team-high .312 average in 42 starts, while also posting a team-high 11 doubles and 56 total bases. In 39 starts at first base, Gillespie is hitting a career-best .298 with 28 hits in 94 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, 224 putouts, and five assists. Rodriguez is averaging .273 from the dish and owns a team-high .515 slugging percentage while the speedster has scored a team-high 18 runs, totaled 51 bases, hit a team-leading five home runs, and is 15-for-18 in stolen base attempts. Clowdus, the designated player for the Zips, has posted a .247 average (21-for-85), has scored seven runs, hit six doubles, four home runs, and five RBI.

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 251.0 innings, own a 6.80 earned run average and have recorded 124 strikeouts. Kmett owns a 1-20 record for Akron on the rubber and has compiled a staff-low 5.54 ERA, thrown six complete games, given up 152 hits, 122 runs (90 earned) and struck out 53 batters. Vertz, the lone senior on the staff stands 0-11 in 27 games and 12 starts. In 76.2 innings of work, Vertz has tallied an 7.67 ERA on 123 hits, 98 runs (84 earned) and struck out 41. Since joining the team, DeLeonardis has pitched 11.2 innings, given up 33 hits, and allowed 30 runs.

Jones named Gillespie and Lakins team captains for the 2018 season.

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.
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.
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.
Sydney Jascoe is hitting a team-high .323 with the bases empty as the Akron lead-off hitter. Cassie Gillespie is hitting .429 with runners in scoring position and .371 with runners on the base path.
With two outs, Caitlin Gambone has recorded a .308 average (12-for-39).
Shaye DeLeonardis, Kooper Vertz, and Kayla Kmett are flyball pitcher forcing 11.4, 8.86 and 9.11 fly ball outs per contests, while Mikayla Newland utilizes the ground ball out recording 9.4 per ballgame.
Kimberly Rodriguez hit a home run in back-to-back days against Toledo (3/24-25) for her second and third of the season.
Shaye DeLeonardis made her Akron debut against Toledo (3/24).
Kayla Kmett set a new career-high in strikeouts per game (6) against Toledo (3/24).
Rodriguez went a perfect 3-for-3 against Toledo (3/25) with a home run. The first three-hit game of her career.
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%).
Kooper Vertz tallied a career-best 6 K's against Ball State (3/30).
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.
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.
Kayla Kmett earned her first collegiate win in an Akron uniform against Western Michigan (4/8).
Cassie Gillespie hit her first home run of the season and third of her career against Ohio (4/13).
Maddy Clowdus recorded her 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.
Kooper Vertz posted 13 groundball outs in her second complete game of the season against Dayton (4/25).
Kayla Kmett tossed her fifth complete game of her young career against the Flyers (4/25).

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).
Defensively, Cassie Gillespie ranks seventh in the league in chances (219), seventh in putouts (208), while Caitlin Gambone ranks eighth in assists (73).
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).

Up Next
The 2018 regular season comes to a close with one final three-game Mid-American Conference series against cross-town rivals, Kent State, on May 4-5. A portion of the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center Wagon Wheel Challenge is up for grabs starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 4, and with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.