Akron Faces Road Tests at Ohio and Northern Illinois

Tuesday, April 20

Athens, Ohio

1:00 PM

University of Akron

Ohio

Akron Faces Road Tests at Ohio and Northern Illinois

April 19 | Softball

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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's softball squad will be challenged by a road swing that includes six tilts this week as the Zips face road tests at Ohio and Northern Illinois.

Ohio | Ohio Softball Field

April 20 at Ohio | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 20 at Ohio | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream

Northern Illinois | Mary M. Bell Field

April 23 at Northern Illinois | 4 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 24 at Northern Illinois | 2 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 24 at Northern Illinois | 4 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 25 at Northern Illinois | 1 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Live Stream

WHAT'S AHEAD:
The University of Akron softball squad will travel to face Ohio in a mid-week doubleheader on Tuesday, April 20. The Zips and Bobcats will play the first of four contests on the campaign at 1 p.m. Akron then ventures to DeKalb, Ill., for a four-game weekend series at Northern Illinois. The Zips open their series versus Huskies with a 4 p.m. ET tilt on Friday, April 23. Akron and Northern Illinois will battle in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 24 starting at 2 p.m. ET, before the series concludes with a 1 p.m. ET game on Sunday, April 25.

SCOUTING AKRON:
Akron is in its 44th season of intercollegiate competition in 2021. Under the direction of second-year head coach Meaggan Pettipiece, the Zips returned 16 players from the Zips' 2020 squad and have added 12 newcomers to the 2021 roster.

Redshirt freshman OF Molly McChesney (Verona, Wis.) leads the offensive exploits for the Zips this season batting a team-best .309 on the strength of team-high marks in hits (21), runs (13), triples (1) and stolen bases (10), while ranking second in slugging percentage (.338) and in at-bats (68). Additionally, redshirt freshman C Laurel DeVoe (North Canton, Ohio) owns a team-best four home runs.

McChesney ranks fifth in the Mid-American Conference in stolen bases with 10, while freshman INF Madison Dudek (Uniontown, Ohio) and sophomore C Teagan Rice (Louisville, Ohio) are rated third and seventh in the league in sacrifice bunts with five and four, respectively.

A trio of Akron pitchers have tossed 30 or more innings in the circle, including 55.2, 49.2 and 39.0 innings, respectively, from freshman P Olivia Stefanoni (Hudson, Ohio), junior P Olivia Otani (Canton, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.). Stefanoni, Otani and Petrof have earned 71, 34 and 28 strikeouts, respectively.

SCOUTING OHIO:
Ohio enters play on Tuesday at 14-15 on the year, including a 10-10 mark in the Mid-American Conference. Senior OF Allie Englant owns team-best .404 batting average and paces the Bobcats in at-bats (104), runs (20), hits (42) and stolen bases (21). In the circle, senior P Madi McCrady and junior P Makenzie Kohl maintain 4.80 and 5.08 ERA's, having tossed 81.2 and 84.0 innings, respectively, en route to combining to strike out 100 batters.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS:
Northern Illinois enters play this weekend at 12-24 on the year, including a 6-14 mark in the Mid-American Conference. Junior INF Katie Keller owns a team-best .369 batting average and paces the Huskies in runs (25), hits (38), doubles (15), triples (1), home runs (6), total bases (73), slugging percentage (.709) and on-base percentage (.480), while ranking third in RBI (23). In the circle, freshman P Claire Norred owns a team-best 3.88 ERA having tossed 108.1 innings and striking out 72.

SERIES HISTORY:
Akron is set to meet Ohio for the 93rd and 94th times, respectively, in program history, with the Zips leading the series, 62-30. In 2019, the Bobcats swept a three-game series from Akron at Lee. R Jackson Field. The Zips trail the all-time series with Northern Illinois, 27-18-1. The two sides are meeting for the first time since the 2017 season when the Huskies took two of three games in DeKalb, Ill.

A WEEK AGO:
Akron battled Mid-American Conference leader Ball State over the course of its four-game series at Lee R. Jackson Field last weekend, but the Zips' efforts were unrewarded in the victory column as Cardinals registered four triumphs past Akron.

In the series opener, the Zips battled down to their final at-bat before the Cardinals secured a 6-5 triumph over the Zips on Friday, April 16.

Early offense for each side highlighted the opening innings of the tilt before pitching and defense shined over the final four frames in a one-run decision for Ball State.

Four different Zips recorded a base hit in the affair, with the big blow coming off the bat of C Laurel DeVoe who blasted her team-leading fourth home run of the campaign, a three-run shot, in the bottom of the first inning.

P Lexie Petrof turned in a solid outing in relief for Akron allowing one run on five hits, while striking out one in 4.2 innings out of the bullpen.

The Cardinals plated the game's first run on a one-out single in the top of the first inning. P Olivia Stefanoni was able to work out of a bases-loaded jam to end the scoring threat for the Cardinals.

CF Molly McChesney opened the Zips' half of the frame with a lead-off walk before advancing to second base on a field error that allowed SS Madison Dudek reach first base. A sacrifice bunt by senior DP Jessie Holzman (Medina, Ohio) moved both runners into scoring position. DeVoe then hammered a 1-1 offering over the wall in left-center field to give Akron a 3-1 lead.

With one down in the bottom of the second inning, Stefanoni singled through the left side before moving over to third base on a double to center field by redshirt freshman RF Tiffany Stevens (Toledo, Ohio). After redshirt sophomore Morgan Cadmus (Tecumseh, Mich.) pinch ran for Stefanoni, McChesney laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached first base after the throw to the plate was late allowing Cadmus to slide in safely. McChesney was able to round base at first and get in a rundown long enough to allow Stevens to come across the dish as well.

The Cardinals answered with a four-run performance in the top of the third inning to knot the score at five.

Ball State pushed across what proved to be the game-winning tally with a two-out single in the top of the fifth inning.

The Cardinals earned a pair of decisions past Akron in doubleheader action on Saturday, April 17 as Ball State registered 5-4 and 7-1 victories over the Zips.

Akron jumped to a 3-1 lead in the opener on the strength of a three-run explosion in the bottom of the third inning. Senior LF Macky Mitchiner (Riverside, Calif.) singled up the middle with a two-out base hit before coming across on a triple down the right-field line by Dudek. Holzman capped the scoring in the frame delivering a two-run home run, her first of the season, over the wall in center field.

The Cardinals moved with one, 3-2, with a run in the top of the fourth inning, before the Zips extended their lead to 4-2 with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the fifth inning by redshirt freshman SS Jaiden Bryant (Hilliard, Ohio).

Ball State scored single tallies in its final two at-bats to force extra innings, where the Cardinals earned the triumph with their fourth home run of the game in the eighth inning.

In the nightcap, Ball State scored three runs in the first inning and two in the second to assume a 5-0 lead after two innings. The Cardinals added single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings to extend their advantage.

The Zips pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out double steal by Dudek and Mitchiner.

A four-run second inning proved too much for Akron to overcome as Ball State captured the series finale, 6-0, over the Zips on Sunday, April 18.

McChesney and freshman Anna Aquino (Medina, Ohio) garnered base hits in the contest for Akron, with Aquino delivering a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning.

Stefanoni was solid in relief for the Zips tossing 3.1 innings and striking out five, while allowing only one run.

A UNIQUE HONOR:
The Zips were honored this week by the NCAA as their sixth-inning inning-ending double play against Marshall in game one on March 3 was recognized as the No. 2 play in the Top-Five Plays of the Week by NCAA Softball. With one out in the bottom of the frame and a runner on first base, a hard-hit liner was snared by a diving Samantha Malik, who got to her feet and fired to Jessie Holzman to double up the runner at first base. WATCH HERE

AKRON NOTES:
• 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.
• Akron's softball roster in 2021 is compiled of 28 student-athletes from all across the United States with eight different states and one Canadian Province represented. The Zips roster consists of 16 players from Ohio, three from Michigan, two from California and Pennsylvania, one from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ontario and Wisconsin.
• The 2020 season marks the 44th season of intercollegiate competition for the Akron softball program.

UP NEXT:
Akron is scheduled to host Ohio in a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 28 at Lee R. Jackson Field.