Akron Concludes Samford Tournament Falling 9-8 To Samford

Sunday, February 9

Homewood, Ala.

1:30 PM (2:30 PM ET)

University of Akron

1-4

Samford University

3-2

Akron

Samford

Photo by: Mike Slade

Akron Concludes Samford Tournament Falling 9-8 To Samford

February 09 | Softball

Box Score

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The first weekend of the 2020 Akron softball season has come and gone as the Zips close out the Samford Tournament with a 9-8 loss to tournament host Samford on Sunday afternoon at the Samford Softball Field.

"After one weekend of play we have learned a lot about what we have and what we need to work on," said head coach Meaggan Pettipiece. "That's what we needed out of it to keep moving in the right direction."

While the Zips fell to 1-4 on the season after five games, a powerful Akron offense was evident in Alabama as UA recorded 35 runs and knocked out 50 hits throughout the weekend.

In the weekend finale, Akron garnered nine hits from seven different Zips. Senior Macky Mitchiner (Riverside, Calif.) and freshman Jaiden Bryant (Toledo, Ohio) paced UA's offensive attack as each player posted a multi-hit performance. Mitchiner went 2-for-4, with an RBI and run scored while Bryant hit 2-for-3 and notched a career-high three RBI.

Inside the circle, senior Adrian Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) made her third start of the season. For the third straight day, Smith went the distance on the rubber, gave up 11 hits, and nine runs (eight earned).

The Zips got on the board in the top of the second inning and grabbed a 3-1 lead when Mitchiner doubled to centerfield driving in senior Jessie Holzman (Medina, Ohio) and back-to-back singles by Bryant and junior Kayla Wulf (Maumee, Ohio) drove in the next two.

Bryant drove in her second and third RBI of the ball game in the third when the freshman doubled down the left field line to extend UA's advantage to 5-3.

Redshirt junior Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.) continued her tear at the plate hitting her third home run of the weekend. It was a three-run shot for the Zips third baseman freshman Hailey Eckelberry (Medina, Ohio) and Bailey Drapola (Brookfield, Ohio) led the inning off reach safely in back-to-back plate appearances.

Despite holding an 8-4 lead heading into the fifth inning, the Bulldogs scored five unanswered runs in the final three innings, including the walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Akron returns to the diamond on Friday, Feb. 14, as the Zips head to the sunshine state of Florida. UA is scheduled to compete at the Madiera Beach Tournament (Feb. 14-16) against South Dakota, Mercer, Central Arkansas, Georgia State, and Butler.