The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Ohio
Akron Welcomes Ohio To Town For Three-Game Series
April 11 | Softball
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Akron vs. Ohio
April 12-13 | Akron, Ohio
Lee Jackson Field
Game Information
Live Stats:Â GoZips.com
Watch:Â Game One
Watch:Â Game Two
Watch: Game Three
Akron vs. Ohio Gamenotes (PDF)
What's Ahead
Akron returns home to Lee Jackson Field on the campus of The University of Akron to begin a three-game homestand with a visit from Ohio. The Zips and Bobcats are scheduled for a three-game Mid-American Conference series on April 12-13 as the two teams head into the final month of regular-season softball. UA and OU are set to play one contest on Friday, April 12, at 3 p.m., before closing the weekend out with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m.
Scouting the Bobcats
When looking at the 11 overall records in the Mid-American Conference standings, Ohio owns a MAC second-best .610 win percentage (25-16), but since conference play kicked off Ohio has gone 6-6 and sits sixth overall in the league standings. Ohio posted a 19-10 non-conference ledger while competing at the Phyllis Rafter Memorial (4-1), the Gamecock Invitational (2-2), the Chattanooga Frost Classic (1-2), the Duke/NC State Invitational (4-1), the UCLA/Long Beach St. Invite (4-1), and the Hoosier Classic (2-2). As the Bobcats schedule turned to MACtion, Ohio swept Bowling Green, won two of three from Northern Illinois, lost a three-game series to Kent State (1-2), and was swept by Central Michigan. The Bobcats enter the series with the Zips having lost four in a row.Â
Six members of the Bobcats lineup are hitting over .300 on the season, including Katie Yun, Morgan Geno, Allie Englant, and Charlee Pond heading into Ohio's 42nd game of the season. Yun, an All-MAC freshman team honoree in 2018, leads the Bobcats offense at the plate hitting .404 on 61 hits in 151 at-bats, including 15 doubles, 11 home runs, and 27 RBI. In her final season in an Ohio uniform, Geno holds Ohio's all-time RBI record and in 2019 is hitting .392, 47 hits, six doubles, 16 home runs, and a team-leading .516 slugging percentage. Englant, Ohio's third-highest average at the plate (.349), owns 44 hits and scored 29 runs. In her first season in an Ohio uniform, Pond has recorded a .337 average including 33 hits, 13 RBI, and scored 22 runs. Rounding out the Bobcats top sluggers is Natalie Alvarez (.328) and Alex Day (.308).Â
Inside the circle, the duo of Mackensie Kohl and Madi McCrady have tossed a combined 250.2 innings of work and started 40 of the Bobcats contests in 2019. Kohl has stepped onto the rubber as a freshman and earned a huge role for Ohio. Kohl owns a team-best 3.00 ERA, is 9-4 on the year, and has made 18 appearances while making 14 starts. In 91 innings of action, Kohl has given up 91 hits, 54 runs, struck out 54 and walked 32. In her second season, McCrady has taken a big step forward in the circle for Ohio en route to a team-best 16 wins. In 26 starts and 29 contests, McCrady owns a 3.51 ERA, has surrendered 87 runs on 143 hits, and struck out a team-high 143 batters. Â
In the NCAA, the Bobcats rank in the top-100 in six statistical categories including home runs per game (15th, 1.33), slugging percentage (24th, .501), scoring (32nd, 5.78), batting average (40th, .304), triples per game (74th, 0.23), and win/loss percentage (74th, .625). Individually, Morgan Geno ranks in the top-50 in RBI (3rd, 56), RBI per game (5th, 1.40), and home runs (10th, .40), while Yun is rated second in hits (61), fifth in doubles (15), 20th in doubles per game (.38), 40th in home runs (11), and 69th in batting average (.404).Â
The Bobcats are a potent offense inside the Mid-American Conference and own league-highs in batting average, runs scored, hits, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.Â
Series History
Ohio and Akron have met 99 times on the diamond in the history of the two programs since the first meeting in 1981. In the all-time series, the Zips have had the advantage against the Bobcats and own a 69-30 record against the green and white. When competing on its home field, the Zips are 28-10 and are 12-5 dating back to 2002. Â
With A Win Over Ohio Akron Would...
- Earn its 9-11 wins of the season.
- Earn its 3-5 MAC wins of the season.Â
- Win its first MAC series of the 2019 campaign.
- Capture its 70-72nd wins over Ohio in program history.Â
- Win its 29-31st wins against the Bobcats at Lee Jackson Field.Â
Last Time Out
In the series finale between Akron softball and Ohio, the Zips were dropped by the Bobcats at the Ohio softball field, 12-0.Â
Ohio shut down the Akron offense as Danielle Steine, the Bobcats starter, tossed a one-hitter against the Zips. Redshirt freshman Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.) tallied the lone hit for the Zips in the contest with a single to center field. Akron also drew one walk, a hit by pitch, and reached safely on an error by Ohio as the Zips left four on base. Â
The Akron pitching staff tossed five innings combined, gave up 12 runs (10 earned), and struck out one.Â
Ohio put four runs on the scoreboard in the first inning and then exploded for eight runs in the third to led them to a five-inning win over Akron.
2019 Zip Breakdown
Under the guidance of 13th-year head coach, Julie Jones, the Zips are amidst the 42nd season of competition in 2019. Akron returned 11 letterwinners from a season ago and welcomed nine freshmen to the squad, including four transfers and five true freshmen.Â
Redshirt sophomore Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.), made an immediate impact in 2018 for the Zips in her first season of competition and was named to the 2018 All-MAC Second Team. Jascoe has picked right up from where she left off in 2018 and leads the Akron offensive efforts from the plate. Starting all 32 games at third base or behind the plate for the Zips, Jascoe owns a .400/.758/.477 slash line which includes a team-high 38 hits, nine doubles, nine home runs, 26 RBI, 72 total bases, and is a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases. The redshirt sophomore earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors in the first week of the season and has continued to rake ever since.Â
Sophomore Kayla Wulf (Maumee, Ohio) has taken a big step in her second season in an Akron uniform. Wulf owns a team second-best .341 average, .918 OPS, .495 slugging percentage, and .423 on-base percentage. Wulf has already surpassed her 2018 stats and recorded new season-highs in hits (31), runs scored (11), doubles (5), RBI (17), walks (11), which are a team-high, and five stolen bases. The Zips catcher recorded a 10-game on-base streak (2/22-3/23) spanning over a month.Â
The Akron outfield has played a large role in the Akron offense through 28 games of the 2019 season. After an injury ended her 2018 season early, junior Jessie Holzman (Medina, Ohio) has made an impact in the Akron lineup. The Zips left fielder is hitting .329 in 32 starts including 23 hits, four doubles, has scored 15 runs and swiped 10 bases. Senior Jordan Crews (Waco, Ga.) has found a home in right field, is hitting .304 with 24 hits, driven in seven RBI, four doubles, and is 7-for-7 in stolen bases. In her first season in an Akron uniform, junior Macky Mitchiner (Riverside, Calif.) roams centerfield for the Zips and fit right into the Akron offense. Mitchiner has posted a .299 average on 29 hits, scored 16 runs, and totaled 34 bases including 15 stolen bases.Â
Redshirt senior Kimberly Rodriguez (Las Vegas, Nevada) and junior Samantha Malik (Orlando, Fla.) are among the top seven hitters in the Akron lineup in 2019 posting a combined .264 average (48-of-182) and 27 RBI. Rodriguez has driven in 17 runs which is tied for second-most in the lineup, scored a team-high 22 runs, and swiped 11 bases as the designated player. Malik, the second baseman for the Zips and junior college transfer, is hitting .281, knocked out 25 hits, five doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, and scored 12 runs.Â
Inside the circle, the sister duo of junior Adrian Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) and freshman Amaya Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) have started 23 of the Zips 31 games and made a combined 37 appearances. Ad. Smith has tossed a team-high 92.0 innings of work and owns a 4.64 ERA, tossed six complete games, recorded a team-best five wins, and 71 strikeouts. In five starts and 13 games on the rubber, Am. Smith has given up 50 hits, 37 runs (27 earned), and totaled a 5.85 ERA. Freshman Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.), has been key for the Zips out of the bullpen making 14 appearances while also earning three starts. In 35.1 innings of work, Petrof has tallied a 6.93 ERA, given up 57 hits, and struck out 17.Â
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 Hose Invitational.Â
- 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).Â
- Sydney Jascoe recorded at least one hit in all five games for the Zips recording a five-game hit streak.Â
- Adrian Smith picked up her first win in her first appearance in an Akron uniform against Morgan State (12-11).Â
- The Zips scored 12 runs in their season opener, which is the most runs scored by an Akron team in a season opener.Â
- 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.Â
- 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.Â
- 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.Â
- Sydney Jascoe recorded three RBI against George Mason which were a then career-high in a single-game.Â
- 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.Â
- Sydney Jascoe has recorded team-highs in multi-hit games (11), hitting streak (8 games), and multi-RBI games (8).
- Kayla Wulf owns a team-best on-base streak (10 games). Â
- Macky Mitchiner is currently on a team-best five-game hitting streak, while Sydney Jascoe has the largest active on-base streak at seven games.
- The Zips offense has scored a season-high 28 runs in the third inning.Â
- Camryn Michallas owns a 1.000 batting average (5-for-5) with a runner on third and less than two outs.
- Jordan Crews has recorded a team-best .567 average when successfully advancing runners.Â
- Kayla Wulf hitting a team-high .591 with runners in scoring position and has tallied a .500 average with runners on the bases, Sydney Jascoe owns a team-best .560 average when leading off an inning, has totaled a team-high 10 RBI with two outs, and owns a team-best .368 average with bases empty.Â
- Adrian Smith records a team-high 5.40 strikeouts per game while Kooper Vertz averages a team-high 1.5 K's to walk ratio, and Lexie Petrof averages 11.09 flyouts per outing.Â
- Adrian Smith has posted a staff-low 7.84 hits per outing.Â
- Amaya Smith tossed her first career complete game shutout in an 8-0 win over North Carolina A&T.Â
- 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.Â
- 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.Â
- Jascoe and Kayla Wulf are averaging over one hit per game, 1.14 and 1.00, respectively.
- Sydney Jascoe launched her team-leading sixth home run of the season, recorded her eighth multi-hit contest and posted her sixth multi-RBI performance against Youngstown State.
- Akron scored eight unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth inning against WMU to tie the game up at eight.Â
- The Zips held a lead in game one against WMU for six innings.Â
- In the two games against Western Michigan, the two squads played a nine-inning game, decided game one in the seventh inning, and scored a combined 35 runs in two games.Â
- The Akron offense had five players in the lineup that tallied a multi-hit performance in game two including, Wulf, Jascoe, Rodriguez, Crews and Mitchiner. The Zips top performer of the contest was Wulf who went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.Â
- In game two against the Broncos, five players recorded an extra-base hit, eight notched a stolen base, and two tallied a sacrifice hit.
- Adrian Smith tossed her fifth complete game of the season while picking up her fifth win in an Akron uniform.Â
- Laura Lakins drove in a team-best five RBI combined in the doubleheader against Buffalo that included a walk-off RBI single to give the Zips a 4-3 win and a three-run home run, her second of the season.Â
- Kayla Wulf went a perfect 2-for-2 and a walk in the Zips win against the Bulls.Â
- Akron needs 52 stolen bases to set a new program record for most stolen bases in a season. The current record is 140 that was set in 2017.Â
- Sydney Jascoe is halfway to joining the Zips top-10 list in most hits in a season. The last person to crack the list was Lisa McLean in 2009. Jascoe, 38 hits, No.10 Karrie Kovach, 66 hits in 1995.Â
- Adrian Smith threw three-straight complete games (20 innings) to raise her CG season total to six against Toledo.Â
- In game two against the Rockets, Akron recorded 13 hits, third-most in a single game in 2019 and eight Zips posted a hit in the match-up.Â
- Sydney Jascoe recorded five RBI in the Zips 11-5 win over UT which are a career-best in a single game.Â
- Freshman Lexie Petrof earned her first collegiate win inside the circle for Akron. After entering the game out of the bullpen, Petrof tossed 5 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits while striking out a pairÂ
- Sydney Jascoe hit two home runs in a single contest for the first time in her career against Toledo.Â
- Sydney Jascoe has hit at least one home run in the last three games, including her two home run contest, and has connected on a home run in four of the last five match-ups.Â
- Macky Mitchiner went a perfect 3-for-3 in the series finale against Buffalo.Â
- Heading into the three-game series against Ohio, six Zips are hitting above .250 and four players including Wulf, Jascoe, Holzman, and Crews are hitting over. 300.
Up Next
The Zips are scheduled to compete in a midweek non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 17, when the Akron travels back to western New York to take on Niagara. The twinbill between the Zips and Purple Eagles is slated to start at 3 p.m.
