Zips Softball Regular Season Finale Slated Against Kent State

Saturday, May 5

Kent, OH

1 PM

University of Akron

Kent State University

Photo by: Jonathan Platten

Zips Softball Regular Season Finale Slated Against Kent State

May 03 | Softball

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Akron at Kent State Game Notes: 5/4/18

Akron at Kent State
May 4-5
Kent, Ohio | Diamond at the Dix

May 4 vs. Kent State | 3 p.m.
May 5 vs. Kent State | 1 p.m.
May 5 vs. Kent State | 3 p.m.

Game Information
Live Stats: GoZips.com
WATCH: GoZips.com

What's Ahead
The 2018 regular season comes to a close for Akron softball with one final Mid-American Conference three-game 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. The winner of the series will earn a point in the Wagon Wheel Challenge for their respective university.

Scouting The Golden Flashes
Three games remain in the 2018 season prior to the start of the 2018 MAC Tournament. If the season were to end today, Kent State would be the No. 4 seed in the tournament as the Golden Flashes have compiled a 12-8 MAC record through 20 games. Overall, Kent State has earned a 26-19 record combining its MAC and non-conference record (14-11). Heading into the series with Akron, the Golden Flashes have won six straight games earning a sweep over Buffalo and Bowling Green, and have captured four series wins in league play.

The Golden Flashes offense has posted a .313 team batting average through 46 contests including 201 hits, 68 doubles, 12 triples, 37 home runs and 259 runs scored in 2018. The top hitter inside the Mid-American Conference and the nation is a member of the Kent State lineup in Holly Speers. Speers ranks first in the nation and the league in batting average (.509), slugging percentage (1.093), on-base percentage (.673), and walks (1.23 per game). In the MAC, Speers also ranks first in home runs (16), runs scored (43), runs batted in (54), and total bases (118). Along with Speers, Kent State has five other members of the roster hitting over .300 including, Kennadie Goth (.405), Bailey Brownfield (.372), Emily Dobbin (.350), Kaitlyn Miller (.330), and Maria Cegledy (.323). Statistically, Brownfield leads in doubles (13), Cegledy has the most triples (3), and Speers leads every other offensive category for the Golden Flashes.

Madi Huck and Brenna Brownfield have won 24 of the Golden Flashes 26 wins inside the circle. Huck, Kent State's ace on the rubber, has compiled a 16-7 record in 31 appearances and 23 starts in 2018. In 154.1 innings of work, Huck has tossed 17 complete games, six shutouts, given up 148 hits, surrendered 72 runs (63 earned), struck out 100 and walked 70. Huck ranks fourth in wins, sixth in K's, and 10th in ERA in the league. Her counterpart, Brownfield, owns an 8-7 record in 14 starts and 25 appearances. Brownfield has seen 90.0 innings of action, thrown two complete games, allowed 120 hits, 74 runs (70 earned), 45 walks, 29 strikeouts, and the opposition is hitting .323 against her.

Series History
Heading into the final three-game series of the 2018 series, the Zips and Golden Flashes are scheduled to meet on the diamond for the 112th time in program history since the first meeting in 1980. Kent State owns the advantage over Akron in the all-time series, 67-44.

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 45 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 .289 average (127-of-439) and 39 RBI. Jascoe is the Zips leader in the hits category going 40-for-135 for .296 average in 45 starts, while also posting a team-high 11 doubles and 60 total bases. In 42 starts at first base, Gillespie is hitting a career-best .311 with 32 hits in 103 at-bats which included an ten-game hit streak and four multi-hit performances. Gillespie also leads the squad defensively with a .977 fielding percentage, 247 putouts, and six assists. Rodriguez is averaging .287 from the dish and owns a team-high .537 slugging percentage while the speedster has scored a team-high 21 runs, totaled 58 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 269.0 innings, own a 6.84 earned run average and have recorded 129 strikeouts. Kmett owns a 2-21 record for Akron on the rubber and has compiled a staff-low 5.61 ERA, thrown seven complete games, given up 179 hits, 139 runs (101 earned) and struck out 57 batters. Vertz, the lone senior on the staff, stands 0-12 in 29 games and 14 starts. In 82.1 innings of work, Vertz has tallied a 7.82 ERA on 136 hits, 111 runs (92 earned) and struck out 42. Since joining the team, DeLeonardis has pitched 12.0 innings, given up 36 hits, and allowed 33 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 on-base 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, Rodriguez, and Clowdus have all posted a three-hit contest.
Jessie Holzman and Caitlin Gambone tallied a season-high three RBI in a contest this season while Gillespie, Laura Lakins, Kayla Wulf, and 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 .336 (39-for-116) with the bases empty as the Akron lead-off hitter. Cassie Gillespie is hitting .429 (9-for-21) with runners in scoring position and .385 (15-for-39) with runners on the base path.
With two outs, Caitlin Gambone has recorded a .302 average (13-for-33).
Shaye DeLeonardis and Kooper Vertz are fly ball pitcher forcing 11.4 and 8.84 fly ball outs per contests, while Kayla Kmett can get the opposition out in the air (8.97/game) or on the ground (7.97/contest).
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 the fifth complete game of her young career against the Flyers (4/25).
In what turned out to be her final at-bat at Lee R. Jackson Field, Cassie Gillespie hit a two-run home run, the fourth of her career.
Caitlin Gambone's three RBI performance against Miami was a career-high in a single-game.
Against Miami, Gillespie garnered the best-weekend series of her career and season; .444/1.111/500, four hits, five runs, two home runs, three RBI, 10 total bases, one walk, 1.000 fld%, 23 putouts, one assist.
Akron had a combined .548 slugging percentage courtesy of 10 extra-base hits, 40 total bases, and 13 RBI.

Where They Rank (as of 5/3)

Cassie Gillespie's batting average ranks 42nd in the MAC at .315 while Sydney Jascoe's .296 average is rated 50th in the league.
Jascoe is tied for seventh in most doubles in the conference with 11.
Rodriguez is tied for fourth in league play for hit by pitches (8).
Caitlin Gambone is sixth in the league in SAC bunts (8), while Laura Lakins is rated t-ninth (7) and Gillespie is tied for 11th (6).
Gillespie has taken 20 walks in 2018 which ranks 13th overall in the MAC.
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 15 while Gillespie t-fifth in the MAC with 10.
Kayla Kmett ranks sixth in appearances (33), ninth in games finished (10), 10th in innings pitched (125.2), rated t-10th in games started (21), and ranks tied for 13th in the MAC in strikeouts looking (20).