Akron Hosts Miami in Four-Game MAC Series

Friday, April 9

Akron, Ohio

3:00 PM

University of Akron

Miami

April 08 | Softball

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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's softball squad continues Mid-American Conference play this weekend as the Zips host Miami in a four-game league series at Lee R. Jackson Field this Friday through Sunday, April 9-11.

Miami | Lee R. Jackson Field

April 9 vs. Miami | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 10 vs. Miami | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 10 vs. Miami | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream
April 11 vs. Miami| 12 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream

WHAT'S AHEAD:
The University of Akron softball squad will open its weekend series versus Miami with a 3 p.m. tilt on Friday, April 9. The Zips and RedHawks will battle in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 10 starting at 1 p.m., before the series concludes with a noon game on Sunday, April 11.

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 .383 on the strength of team-high marks in hits (18), runs (10), total bases (20), triples (1), stolen bases (8) and slugging percentage (.426), while ranking second in at-bats (47). Additionally, redshirt junior INF Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.) and redshirt freshman C Laurel DeVoe (North Canton, Ohio) have posted a team-best two home runs apiece.

A trio of Akron pitchers have tossed 25 or more innings in the circle, including 40.0, 32.0 and 28.2 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 54, 26 and 26 strikeouts, respectively.

This season, the Zips returned four of their top-six hitters from a year ago in redshirt freshman OF Tiffany Stevens (Toledo, Ohio), Jascoe and seniors INF/OF Jessie Holzman (Medina, Ohio) and OF Madison Carter (Newnan, Ga.).

Stevens is Akron's top-returning hitter after batting .315 a season ago, with 17 hits in 54 at-bats, with eight RBI, six runs scored, five doubles and a pair of home runs. She boasted a .519 slugging percentage and .373 on-base mark.

Jascoe batted .300 en route to belting a team-high seven home runs, while also leading the Zips in RBI (21), and runs scored (16), while ranking second in hits (21) and total bases (46). Her .657 slugging and .388 on-base percentages are tops among returners this season.

Holzman finished the season with a .297 average recording 11 hits in 37 at-bats, four extra-base hits, while scoring eight runs and plating eight RBI.

Carter registered a .286 average on the strength of 12 hits in 42 at-bats, including three extra-base hits, and finished the campaign with eight runs scored and four RBI.

Jascoe was one of two returning Zips to start all 25 games in 2020, while senior OF Macky Mitchiner (Riverside, Calif.), who posted 12 hits, including five for extra bases, while ranking second on the squad with 11 RBI, started all 23 games in which she played.

Inside the circle, Petrof appeared in 16 games for the Zips, including 10 starts, going 55.1 innings and striking out 19 to maintain a 5.44 ERA. DiFeo made five starts as part of nine overall appearances on the mound for the Zips, fanning 10 in 18.2 innings of work en route to owning a 5.25 ERA. Additionally, redshirt sophomore Lauren Frigyes (Paris, Ohio) worked 12.2 innings of relief, in which she struck out six and tallied a 10.50 ERA.

Joining the Zips roster in 2020 are 12 newcomers; freshmen UTIL Anna Aquino (Medina, Ohio), INF Carley Auten (Pickerington, Ohio), INF Madison Dudek (Uniontown, Ohio), INF Hannah Gartrell (York, Pa.), OF Kalli Macintosh-Houlder (Mississauga, Ontario), Otani, sophomores C Katelyn Reynolds (Cincinnati, Ohio) and C Teagan Rice (Louisville, Ohio) and freshmen UTIL Jillian Riegert (Worthington, Ohio), Stefanoni, INF Atlantis Taufa (Fullerton, Calif.) and P Sheridon Wilber (Rock Creek, Ohio).

OVER THE LAST 10 GAMES:
Over Akron's last 10 games, Macky Mitchiner leads the Zips with a .438 batting average on the strength of team-high marks in hits (7), doubles (3) and on-base percentage (.526), while ranking second in total bases (10). Tiffany Stevens paces the team in RBI (11), while Sydney Jascoe has registered a 1.125 slugging percentage and McChesney owns a team-best four stolen bases. Olivia Stefanoni has struck out 32 batters in 22.1 innings in the circle for Akron over the same span.

SCOUTING MIAMI:
Miami stands at 18-6 on the year, including a perfect 8-0 mark atop the Mid-American Conference, after a 6-3 non-conference triumph past Butler on Tuesday, April 6. Junior INF Allie Cummins Coy owns team-best .467 batting average and paces the RedHawks in runs (24), hits (28), doubles (10), home runs (8), total bases (62), slugging percentage (1.033) and on-base percentage (.602), while ranking second in RBI (25). In the circle, junior P Brianna Pratt owns a team-best 2.44 ERA having tossed 57.1 innings and striking out 60, while senior P Courtney Vierstra has fanned a team-high 94 batters on the strength of a 2.95 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY:
Akron is set to meet Miami for the 83rd-86th times, respectively, in program history, with the RedHawks leading the series, 42-40. In 2019, Miami swept a three-game series, 6-0, 4-2 and 7-4, respectively.

A WEEK AGO:
Akron women's softball team saw its comeback attempt come up a run short as Bowling Green scored a pair of tallies in its final at-bat to secure a 5-4 triumph over the Zips in the series opener on Friday, April 2 at Meserve Field.

The Falcons jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after two innings before Akron cut the deficit to one, 3-2, with singles runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

CF Macky Mitchiner opened the fourth inning with a lead-off double to left-center field. RF Tiffany Stevens laced a one-out single up the middle to advance Mitchiner to third base. A fielder's choice by senior SS Samantha Malik (Orlando, Fla.) plated Mitchiner with the Zips' first run of the game.

LF Molly McChesney led off the fifth inning with an infield single before stealing her team-leading eighth stolen base of the season. She advanced to third base on fielding error before coming across on the second Bowling Green error of the inning.

The Zips took the lead, 4-3, with a two-run frame in the top of the sixth inning.

Redshirt junior Lauren Holdsworth (Howell, Mich.) reached base via an error before redshirt freshman 2B Jaiden Bryant (Hilliard, Ohio) added a one-out single through the right side. Malik re-entered the game for Holdsworth and moved into scoring position with Bryant on a wild pitch. A second wild pitch allowed Malik to score the game-tying run, while moving to third base was Bryant. An RBI groundout by pinch hitter Sydney Jascoe gave Akron a 4-3 lead.

Bowling Green erased the deficit with a pair of runs of their own in the bottom of the inning en route to garnering the victory.

McChesney led the Zips at the plate going 2-for-3 with a run scored. P Lexie Petrof registered four strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief for Akron.

Akron dropped 1-0 and 4-1 decisions to Bowling Green in a MAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 3 at Meserve Field.

The Falcons claimed the victory in the opener, 1-0, pushing across a run in their final at-bat, before jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the nightcap en route to securing a 4-1 triumph.

Olivia Stefanoni registered a career-high 12 strikeouts in the circle for the Zips in the opening contest, while allowing only three hits.

Four different Akron players collected a hit in the contest, including a first-inning double by Stevens.

The Falcons scored the lone run in the game on a two-out double from Madi McCoy in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Bowling Green opened the scoring in the day's second contest with one run in the bottom of the first inning.

The Zips loaded the bases in the top of the third inning but were unable to get a two-out base hit to crack the scoring column. The Falcons added a pair of runs in its half of the inning, before extended their lead to 4-0 with a single tally in the fifth inning.

C Katelyn Reynolds opened the Zips' half of the seventh inning with a lead-off walk before swiping second base. CF Madison Carter then delivered a one-out single to right field to plate Reynolds.

A run in its final at-bat lifted Bowling Green past Akron, 5-4, in the series finale between the two teams on Sunday, April 4 at Meserve Field.

The Zips were led by a 3-for-3 effort, including a pair of home runs, from Jascoe, who finished the game with three RBI and a pair of runs scored.

Stefanoni and Petrof combined to record eight strikeouts in the circle for Akron.

The Zips opened the scoring in the affair with a single run in the top of the third inning on a lead-off home run over the fence in left field by Jascoe.

The Falcons responded with a three-run explosion of their own in the bottom of the frame to assume a 3-1 lead.

Madison Dudek started the fourth inning with a lead-off double before coming across the dish on a double from Stefanoni. Jascoe delivered another RBI with a one-out single up the middle to drive in Stefanoni and square the game at three.

Bowling Green regained the advantage with a single run in the bottom of the inning.

The Zips tied the game at four in the top of the sixth inning when Jascoe belted a 2-0 offering over the wall in center field for her team-leading second home run of the season.

The Falcons walked off the victory with a double in the bottom of the seventh inning.

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 welcome Ball State to Lee R. Jackson Field for a four-game series beginning on Friday, April 16.