The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Eastern Kentucky
Akron Softball Heads To Final Early Season Tournament At Eastern Kentucky Invite
March 06 | Softball
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Akron At Eastern Kentucky Invite
March 7-8
Richmond, Ky.
March 7 vs. Eastern Kentucky | 1:30 p.m.
March 7Â vs. UICÂ | 4Â p.m.
March 8Â vs. UICÂ | 9:30Â a.m.
March 8 vs. Dayton | 12 p.m.
Game Information
Live Stats:Â GoZips.com
What's Ahead
The Akron softball team heads to Richmond, Ky. and takes part in the Eastern Kentucky Invitational on March 7th and 8th. UA is scheduled for four games in its final tournament of the first half of the 2020 campaign and is set to take on Eastern Kentucky, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Dayton.
Scouting the Colonels
Tournament, Eastern Kentucky, has dominated so far this season. The Colonels currently hold an impressive 17-2 record and are on a 13-game winning streak. EKU's only two losses on the season came at the hands of Tulsa (2-5) and UNC Greensboro (3-8). The Colonels have gone undefeated in their past two tournaments outscoring its opponents, 47-8.
The Colonels have had a lot of production at the plate this season led by a handful of players. Sammi Millers leads the offensive attach with a .400 in batting average, 24 hits, five doubles, and two triples. Carly Robinson leads the team in home runs (5) while posting a .375 batting average and 16 RBI. Ariyana Miranda leads the team in RBI (17) while batting .305.
In the circle, the Colonels have totaled a 1.95 team ERA. They are led by Mollie Paulick who leads the team in ERA (1.29), complete games (1.29), strikeouts (81), and opponent batting average (.162). Samantha Reynoso has also pitched well with a 4-1 record and a 1.73 ERA.
Scouting the Flames
The Flames have had their ups and downs early in the year. Thus far, UIC is 6-9 on the season. The Flames posted a 3-2 record to start the season at the FCGU Invitational and have since gone 3-7, but have faced tough competition including #14 Oklahoma State (0-8) and #10 Oregon (0-2).
At the plate, Samantha Ferguson leads the team in batting average (.378). Kayla Pociejewki and Kayla Wedl are tied for the team lead in RBIs with 6 to go along with a combined 15 hits. The trio of Ferguson, Pociejewki, and Wedl have tallied 42 of the Flames 77 total hits. Â
In the circle, the duo of Christina Toniolo and Allie Trudeau have started 14 of the Flames 15 contests. Toniolo has gone 2-5 in nine contests, given up 21 runs on 34 hits and struck out 26 in 37.1 innings of work. Trudeau has posted a 4.58 ERA, tossed four complete games, allowed 49 hits, 35 runs, and K'd 23 batters.Â
Scouting the Flyers
The Flyers are off to a slow start to the 2020 season with a 4-10 record. Dayton struggled at the Mercer Invitational posting a 2-3 record, before going winless in five games at the Houston Classic.. Last weekend, at the UNCG Spartan Classic, the Flyers improved going 2-2.
At the plate, the Flyers have been led by Abby Ehrenborg who leads the team in home runs (5) and has a .302 batting average to go along with eight RBIs. Alyssa Cacini has added 3 home runs while leading the team in RBIs (9) all while batting .300. Lillie Knesel leads the team in batting average with an impressive .419, while Mallory Kimmell is not far behind with a .400 average.
The Flyers have been inconsistent inside the circle through 14 games as Dayton holds a team 7.27 ERA, allowed 18 home runs, and are allowing an opponent batting average of .296. Jessecia Weaver leads the Flyers in wins (3) while posting a 3.66 ERA in 32.0 innings. Sarah Bailitz leads the pitching staff in strikeouts (32) and walks (32.Â
Series History
Heading into the Eastern Kentucky Invitational, Akron holds a 20-29 overall combined record against its three upcoming opponents including a 14-17 mark against Dayton, 1-6 against EKU, and 5-6 against UIC.Â
Mid-American Conference Member
The Zips have been a member of the Mid-American Conference for the past 27 years after joining the league in 1993 from the North Star Conference.
Scouting The Zips
Akron is amidst its 43rd season of competition in 2020 under first-year head coach, Meaggan Pettipiece, the Zips return 11 letterwinners from UA's 2019 squad and have added 10 newcomers to the 2020 roster made up of eight true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, and a redshirt sophomore.Â
Pettipiece was named the eighth head coach in Akron program history in July 2019. Pettipiece comes to UA after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State and has 10 years of head coaching experience at Northwood University.Â
The Zips top-three batting leaders in redshirt junior Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.), junior Kayla Wulf (Maumee, Ohio), and senior Jessie Holzman (Medina, Ohio) return to the Akron lineup in 2020, while a pair of freshmen and two seniors have made an impact on the Zips offense 19 games into the campaign.Â
Freshman Bailey Drapola (Brookfield, Ohio) has come into the lineup and played a big role in the Zips successes at the plate. Starting all 21 games as a freshman, Drapola owns team-highs in hits (25), doubles (8), and batting average (.368). Additionally, Drapola has recorded six RBI, three home runs, and one triple in 68 at-bats.Â
In 18 games and 17 starts, freshman Tiffany Stevens (Toledo, Ohio) has garnered a .362/.596/.423 slash line on 17 hits, five doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI. Stevens tallied a seven-game hit streak early on in the season.
Junior Kayla Wulf (Maumee, Ohio) has picked up where she left off at the conclusion of the 2019 season. In 12 games, Wulf has garnered a team-high .425 batting average, .825 slugging percentage, and .511 on-base percentage. Wulf's presence has been felt with runners on the base path recording 10 RBI on 17 hits while also hitting five home runs.Â
Redshirt junior Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.), is one of the lethal hitters in the Zips lineup. Jascoe has tallied a .323 batting average, team-best .726 slugging percentage, and .400 on-base percentage. In 62 at-bats, the Zips third baseman has tallied 20 hits, four doubles, seven home runs, 21 RBI, 45 total bases, and scored 16 runs. The redshirt junior earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors in the second week of the season.
One of the most experienced players in the Zips lineup, senior Jessie Holzman (Medina, Ohio) continues to make an impact in the Akron lineup. The Zips first baseman owns a .297 average on the strength of 11 hits, three doubles, one home run, eight RBI, totaled 17 bases, and scored eight runs. In second first season in an Akron uniform, senior Macky Mitchiner (Riverside, Calif.) roams centerfield for the Zips on defense. Offensively, Mitchiner has posted a .219 average on 14 hits, scored four runs, driven in 11 RBI, and totaled 24 bases including two stolen bases.Â
Inside the circle, senior Adrian Smith (St. Clairsville, Ohio) has started seven of the Zips 21 games and made 15 appearances. Smith tossed a team-high 57.1 innings of work, garnered a 5.98 ERA, tossed six complete games, recorded a team-best three wins and 48 strikeouts. Sophomore Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.), has stepped her game up in the circle for Akron as the Zips righty has worked 46.1 innings in 13 contests and eight starts en route to a 5.59 ERA, 60 hits, and 14 strikeouts.Â
Up Next
After a two week period without softball, the Akron softball team dives right into Mid-American Conference play as the Zips host Central Michigan in a twinbill on Saturday, March 21, beginning at 1 p.m.
