Midweek Non-Conference Softball Awaits Akron At Youngstown State

Tuesday, March 26

Youngstown, OH

3:00 PM

University of Akron

Youngstown State

Midweek Non-Conference Softball Awaits Akron At Youngstown State

March 25 | Softball

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Akron vs. Youngstown State
March 26 | Youngstown, Ohio
YSU Softball Complex

Game Information
Live Stats: GoZips.com (Game One)
Live Stats: GoZips.com (Game One)
Akron vs. Ball State Gamenotes (PDF)

What's Ahead
Midweek softball is upon Akron as the Zips head to Youngstown, Ohio, to compete in non-conference action against Youngstown State. Akron goes head-to-head against the Penguins on Tuesday, March 26, starting at 3 p.m. The Zips and YSU are slated for a twinbill with game two tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m.

Scouting the Penguins
As Akron heads to Youngstown, the Penguins stand 8-17 overall on the year, including a 3-0 mark inside Horizon League play. YSU is coming off a sweep of Oakland in the HL season opener and has won four straight overall, which includes a win over fellow MAC opponent, Kent State. When playing at the YSU Softball Complex, the Penguins own a 4-1 record on the season while holding a 4-16 ledger on the road.

The Youngstown State offense is led by a senior infielder/pitcher in her final season in a YSU uniform, Lexi Zappitelli. Zapatitelli owns a team-high .348 batting average and tied for a team-best 24 hits which include four doubles, one triple, a home run, and RBI. Additionally, Zappitelli has scored 11 runs and walked eight times in 69 at-bats. Yazmine Romero and Grace Cea are each hitting over .250 in the Penguins lineup in their second and first seasons, respectively. Romero has posted a .289/.330/.289 slash line in 83 at-bats, including 24 hits, 10 runs scored, and a team-high six stolen bases. Cea has tallied a .281 average in the first 25 games of her career while also notching a team-high 15 RBI.

On the rubber, freshman Addy Jarvis has pitched a bulk of the innings for YSU tossing 73.1 in 14 appearances and 11 starts. Jarvis owns a 5-6 record inside the circle while earning a 2.96 earned run average, given up 69 hits, allowed 37 runs (31 earned), struck out 66 batters and walked 33. Kayla Rutherford has made three starts for the Penguins, has thrown 3.2 innings, given up seven hits, seven runs, and picked up 5.73 ERA.

In the NCAA, Alex DeLeon ranks 28th in the nation in hit by pitches per game (.32), Cea ranks 60th in SAC flies (2), and Zappitelli is rated 91st in sacrifice hits per game (.18). In the circle and in the NCAA, Jarvis ranks 86th in K's (72), and strikeouts per seven innings (7.7).

Series History
Since the first meeting between Akron and Youngstown State in 1980, the Zips and Penguins have squared off on the diamond 78 times heading into the doubleheader. The Zips have seen a lot of success in-between the lines against YSU over the last 39 years and has recorded a 51-27-1 mark.

Last Time Out
With a 2-0 victory at Youngstown State, the Akron Zips softball team gave its head coach Julie Jones the 500th victory of her career.

Jones, in her 11th season with the Zips, now stands 500-542-4 in her 21 years as a head coach. At Akron, Jones is 256-283-2. She recorded her 250th UA win earlier this season with a 1-0 shutout of Fort Wayne (Feb. 19). Jones is Akron's all-time leader for games coached (540) and ranks second in coaching wins (256).

UA shut out YSU, 2-0, in the first game of the twinbill. The Zips (11-12 overall) fell to the Penguins (6-17 overall) in the night cap, 4-1.

2019 Zips Tidbits

Eight Zips, including Samantha Malik, Macky Mitchiner, Camryn Michallas, Amaya Smith, Lauren Holdsworth, Morgan Cadmus, Adrian Smith, and Lexie Petrof made their Akron debuts at the Blue Host Invitational.
Five Akron players recorded an OPS of over 1.000 in Akron's first five games, including Sydney Jascoe (1.559), Jessie Holzman (1.115), Kimberly Rodriguez (1.004), and Samantha Malik (1.034).
Sydney Jascoe recorded at least one hit in all five games for the Zips recording a five-game hit streak.
Adrian Smith picked up her first win in her first appearance in an Akron uniform against Morgan State (12-11).
The Zips scored 12 runs in their season opener, which is the most runs scored by an Akron team in a season opener.
For the third time in program history, Akron has ended two games in a draw. No Zips team has finished a season with more than a pair of ties.
In the first five games of the season, Akron stole 18 bases in 22 attempts courtesy of nine different Zips baserunners, including six base runners going a combined 12-for-12.
Adrian Smith struck out a season-high eight batters against Morgan State in her second victory of the season.
Mikayla Newland and Adrian Smith recorded the Zips first combined shutout of the season (5-0) over the Bears.
Amaya Smith earned her first collegiate victory inside the circle against George Mason.
Sydney Jascoe recorded three RBI against George Mason which are a career-high in a single-game.
At the Madeira Beach Tournament, Akron recorded 36 hits, eight doubles, two home runs, 20 RBI, scored 36 runs, and went 13-for-17 on stolen bases.
Sydney Jascoe has recorded team-highs in multi-hit games (7), hitting streak (8 games), and multi-RBI games (5).
Kayla Wulf owns a team-best on-base streak (10 games).
Sydney Jascoe is currently on a team-best three-game hitting streak and has the largest active on-base streak at three games.
The Zips offense has scored a season-high 23 runs in the third inning.
Jascoe owns a .600 batting average with a runner on third and less than two outs and .515 when successfully advancing runners.
Jordan Crews is hitting a team-high .500 with runners in scoring position, Kayla Wulf .545 with runners on the bases, Jessie Holzman owns a team-best .583 average when leading off an inning, and Sydney Jascoe and Kimberly Rodriguez have totaled a team-high seven RBI with two outs.
Samantha Malik owns a team-best .382 average with bases empty.
Amaya Smith tossed her first career complete game shutout in an 8-0 win over North Carolina A&T.
Freshman Camryn Michallas recorded her first career multi-hit contest against UT Martin going 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Sydney Jascoe and Kimberly Rodriguez hit their fifth and third home runs of the season against Ball State, respectively. It was also the second time the two have homered in the same game this season.
Macky Mitchiner has recorded a team-best 40 straight putouts. Laura Lakins owns a team-high 94 putouts, while Jascoe has recorded a team-high 41 assists.
Jascoe and Kayla Wulf are averaging over one hit per game, 1.14 and 1.00, respectively.

Up Next
The Zips return to MAC play and will open their 2019 home schedule at Lee Jackson Field on March 29-30 when Akron hosts Western Michigan in a three-game series. The Zips and Broncos are slated for one game on Friday, March 29 at 3 p.m. before a doubleheader awaits the two squads on Saturday, March 30 (1 & 3 p.m.).