The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Robert Morris
Akron Softball Closes Out Non-Conference Play Against Robert Morris In Home Finale
April 22 | Softball
Follow Coach Jones on Twitter
Akron vs. Robert Morris
April 23 | Akron, Ohio
Lee Jackson Field
Game Information
Live Stats:Â GoZips.com
Watch:Â Game One
Watch:Â Game Two
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What's Ahead
The home portion of the 2019 Akron softball schedule comes to a close on Tuesday, April 23, as the Zips host its final non-conference opponent in Robert Morris. The Zips and Colonials are slated to compete in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field on the campus of The University of Akron.Â
Scouting the Colonials
With five games remaining in the 2019 schedule for Robert Morris, the Colonials own a 13-30 overall mark while picking up a 4-4 Northeast Conference record. RMU competed at five tournaments early on in the season spanning over the first month of the campaign, including the Lancer Launch (2-2), the Wings ETC Classic (0-4), the Liberty Softball Classic (1-4), the Louisville Slugger Invitational (0-5), and the UMBC Retriever Classic (1-4). The Colonials have competed against two other MAC opponents, Kent State and Ohio, and went 0-3. Robert Morris has currently lost three straight games and are 5-7 through the month of April.Â
As a unit, Robert Morris is hitting .230/.340/.290 through its 43 games in 2019. In 1,087 at-bats, the Colonials have tallied 250 hits, 42 doubles, 24 home runs, three triples, driven in 125 RBI, scored 135 runs, walked 69 times, and struck out in 213 at-bats.Â
Four members of the Colonials lineup are hitting over .250, including Abrielle McCartney, Natalie Higgins, Briana Bunner, and Brittney Seibert. McCartney is the top slugger on the Robert Morris lineup card with a .300 batting average, slugging .446-percent, and .319 on-base percentage. In 130 at-bats, McCartney as tallied 39 hits, eight doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI, and scored 21 runs while totaling 58 bases. Higgins, hitting just below .300 at .292 on 31 hits, five doubles, tied for a team-high six home runs. Higgins is the top run producer in the Colonials with batting order with 19 RBI and a slugging percentage of .509. Bunner and Siebert round out the top four hitters for Robert Morris with a .264 and .255 batting average, respectively. Bunner has knocked out 33 hits, a team-best 12 doubles, and 18 RBI while walking 10 times and striking out 15. In 98 at-bats, Siebert has garnered 25 hits, scored 15 runs, and drove in 10 RBI. Combined the quartet has recorded 51-percent of the teams hits, 51-percent of the squads RBI, and 50-percent of the Colonials runs scored.Â
Inside the circle, four members of the Colonials have picked up wins for the Kent State pitching staff in a combined 43 appearances. The ace of the bunch, Dana Vatakis, owns a team-best 8-12 record, 4.25 earned run average, 10 complete games, 115.1 innings pitched, and 49 strikeouts. In 25 appearances and 19 starts, Vatakis has surrendered 83 runs (70 earned) on 142 hits while the opposition is hitting .304 against the RMU ace. Madison Riggle and Laura Coulter have each notched two wins inside the circle and are a combined 4-12. Coulter has made 20 appearances and 14 starts, tossed four complete games, and one shutout in 78 innings of work.Â
In the NCAA, Siebert ranks 64th in sacrifice hits per game (0.19), Brianna Bunner is rated 122nd in doubles per game (0.29), and Coulter ranks 129th in walks allowed per seven innings (1.79.). As a unit, Robert Morris ranks 15th in double plays per game (0.30), home runs per game (0.56), and 184th in fielding percentage (.955).Â
Series History
Since the first meeting between Akron and Robert Morris in 1988, the Zips and Colonials have met in competition 26 times. Since the inaugural contest, the UA is 15-11 overall against RMU, is 4-3 dating back to 2009, and is 8-5 when squaring off at Lee Jackson Field.Â
With A Win Over Robert Morris, Akron Would...
- Earn its 11-12 wins of the season.
- Earn its 9-10 non-conference wins of the season.Â
- Capture the 16-17th win over Robert Morris in program history and 9-10th victories at Lee Jackson Field
Last Time Out
The Akron softball team split a non-conference doubleheader at Robert Morris on April 17, 2012, winning game one 6-0 and falling 8-2 in game two.
Brittany Maurer (13-18) pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout in Akron's 6-0 game one win. Maurer walked one and struck out seven as just three RMU players reached base.
Alissa Birkhimer went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs while Crystal Hernandez also had two RBIs thanks to a 1-for-3 performance.
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
Sophomore Kayla Wulf (Maumee, Ohio) has taken a big step in her second season in an Akron uniform. Wulf owns a team second-best .348 average, .939 OPS, .509 slugging percentage, and .416 on-base percentage. Wulf has already surpassed her 2018 stats and recorded new season-highs in hits (39), runs scored (15), doubles (6), RBI (23), walks (11), which are a team-high, and six stolen bases. The Zips catcher/3B 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 37 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 .308 in 39 starts including 28 hits, four doubles, has scored 16 runs and swiped 15 bases. Senior Jordan Crews (Waco, Ga.) has found a home in right field, is hitting .313 with 30 hits, driven in nine RBI, six 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 35 hits, scored 17 runs, and totaled 41 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 .246 average (55-of-224) and 30 RBI. Rodriguez has driven in 19 runs which is tied for second-most in the lineup, scored a team-high 23 runs, and swiped 11 bases as the designated player. Malik, the second baseman for the Zips and junior college transfer, is hitting .267, knocked out 27 hits, five doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI, and scored 15 runs.Â
Prior to a season-ending injury, redshirt sophomore Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.), led the Akron offensive efforts from the plate. Starting 32 games at third base or behind the plate for the Zips, Jascoe owned a .396/.750/.478 slash line which included a 38 hits, nine doubles, nine home runs, 26 RBI, 72 total bases, and was 6-for-6 in stolen bases. The redshirt sophomore earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors in the first week of the season.
Inside the circle, the sister duo of junior Adrian Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) and freshman Amaya Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) have started 28 of the Zips 39 games and made a combined 45 appearances. Ad. Smith has tossed a team-high 113 innings of work and owns a 4.77 ERA, tossed eight complete games, recorded a team-best seven wins, and 93 strikeouts. In five starts and 17 games on the rubber, Am. Smith has given up 59 hits, 44 runs (33 earned), and totaled a 6.30 ERA. Freshman Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.), has been key for the Zips out of the bullpen making 16 appearances while also earning three starts. In 38.1 innings of work, Petrof has tallied a 7.49 ERA, given up 64 hits, and struck out 19.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 10-game on-base streak and has the most three RBI contests in 2019 (2).Â
- Jordan Crews is currently on a team-best two-game hitting streak, while Laura Lakins has the largest active on-base streak at seven games.
- The Zips offense has scored a season-high 30 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.
- Kayla Wulf is hitting a team-high .567 with runners in scoring position, .500 average with runners on the bases, and .655 when successfully advancing runners.Â
- Sydney Jascoe owns a team-best .538 average when leading off an inning, has totaled a team-high 10 RBI with two outs, and owns a team-best .362 average with bases empty.Â
- Adrian Smith records a team-high 5.76 strikeouts per game and averages a team-high 1.7 K's to walk ratio, while Lexie Petrof averages 11.14 flyouts per outing.Â
- Adrian Smith has posted a staff-low 7.81 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 66 straight putouts and is just one of two players in the MAC to hold a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Laura Lakins owns a team-high 183 putouts, while Jascoe has recorded a team-high 46 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 two-game series against Niagara, five active Zips are hitting above .250 and three active players including Wulf, Holzman, and Crews are hitting over. 300.Â
- Kayla Wulf went 3-for-4 with one run scored, a home run and two RBI in game one against the Bobcats.Â
- Laura Lakins in home runs in back-to-back games against Ohio giving her four on the season and her career.
- Adrian Smith tossed back-to-back complete-game shutouts for the first time in her Akron career against Niagara.Â
- In game one against the Purple Eagles, Ad. Smith flirted with perfection into the seventh inning until Niagara recorded its first base runner with a base hit.Â
- After setting a new single-game strikeout high with nine against Niagara in game one, Ad. Smith bested herself in game two punching out 10 Purple Eagle batters.Â
- Samantha Malik hit her fourth home run of the season which was the winning run of the game against Niagara.Â
- Mikayla Newland recorded a career-high eight strikeouts in a single game against Kent State.
- The Zips scored four runs in the sixth inning against the Golden Flashes, their only runs of the weekend, courtesy of an RBI single by Kayla Wulf, a two-RBI double to right center field from Jordan Crews, and an RBI double to straightaway center by Lauren Holdsworth.
Up Next
With five games remaining in the 2019 regular season, the Zips conclude the campaign on the road starting at Bowling Green on Saturday, April 27. UA heads to Bowling Green, Ohio, where a doubleheader awaits the Zips against the Falcons at Meserve Field starting a 1 p.m.
