Zips Baseball Travels to Miami for #MACtion Series Season Finale

Zips Baseball Travels to Miami for #MACtion Series Season Finale
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Akron Zips [14-32, 8-28 MAC] vs Miami RedHawks [21-26, 14-17 MAC]
Friday-Sunday, May 21-23| McKie Field at Hayden Park | Oxford, Ohio

Akron travels to Oxford, Ohio for the final Mid-American Conference series of the season against Miami at McKie Field at Hayden Park on Friday-Sunday, May 21-23. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. and the final on Sunday is slated for a 1 p.m. start.

GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats - https://bit.ly/3f0VNdi

WHAT'S AHEAD
Akron travels to Oxford, Ohio for the final Mid-American Conference series of the season against Miami at McKie Field at Hayden Park on Friday-Sunday, May 21-23.

The series first pitch is slated for 5 p.m. on Friday followed by Saturday's doubleheader at 1 p.m. Game two of the doubleheader will start approximately 30 minutes at the conclusion of game one. The series finale and final league game of 2021 for Akron is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

Fans can follow the action on Miami or via live stats on GoZips.com. Links are also available on the baseball schedule page.

Under the guidance of second-year head coach Chris Sabo, the Zips own a 14-32 overall record and 8-28 league mark. The Zips claimed their first MAC series win of the season, defeating Ohio 3-1 by scores of 4-2, 3-1 and 9-8. Akron fell 4-0 to the Bobcats in game three. The Zips received three complete games from the pitching staff last weekend and used three pitchers in the series finale.

The Zips also posted a pair of wins against Eastern Michigan for a series split and secured one game from Bowling Green, Northern Illinois and Kent State while dropping four games to Western Michigan, Ball State, Toledo and Central Michigan.

The Zips are hitting .221 as a team in 36 MAC games led by Bryant Shellenbarger (.272 AVG) with a team-high 28-for-103 effort including three doubles, a homerun, eight RBI and 10 runs scored. Justin Barr (.230 AVG) and Bradley Goulet (.248 AVG) follow with 26-for-113 and 25-for-101 performances, respectively. Barr blasted three doubles and two homeruns with 11 RBI and nine runs scored, while Goulet delivered four doubles and a homerun with 14 runs scored and five RBI. Cameron Tilly (.233 AVG), Connor Regan (.209 AVG) and Jerry Reinhart (.206 AVG) also collected 20 or more hits for the Zips in MAC play as Tilly is 24-for-103, Regan is 23-for-110 and Reinhart is 22-for-107. Regan leads the RBI category with 14 and Barr and Reinhart follow with 11 RBI.

On the mound, Taed Heydinger (5.40 ERA), Anthony Fett (5.49 ERA) and Conor Steinbaugh (3.42 ERA) have collected the most innings pitched at 48.1, 39.1 and 26.1, respectively. Heydinger is 1-6 in nine appearances, while Fett is 1-4 is seven starting roles. Fett earned MAC Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday, May 17 for his complete game win performance against Ohio. Heydinger also had a complete game win against the Bobcats. Steinbaugh is 2-2 in with five appearances. Steinbaugh recorded 28 strikeouts with one walks in league play and 39 K's with one walk overall to lead the Zips. In addition, Jackson Miller has hureled 24.0 9nnings in league play with a 0-0 record in nine appearances and one start.

Miami RedHawks
Miami enters the weekend with an overall record of 21-26 and 14-17 in conference play. The RedHawks split the weekend series with Ohio and fell in four straight games to West Virginia (2) and Bowling Green (2).

The RedHawks offense is led by Will Vogelgesang with a .311 batting average on the season and .304 BA in league play. Vogelgesang collected 52 hits in 167 at-bats on the season and owns a team-high 31-for-102 in league play. In the MAC, he has distributed five tripes, three doubles and one homerun for 15 RBI and 10 runs scored. Benji Brokemond follows with 27 hits and a .276 league BA, while Cole Andrews and Dalton Beck accumulated 24 hits each for .289 and .255 BA in MAC play. Nate Stone and Brian Zapp lead the RedHawks in homeruns with five each.

On the mound, the RedHawks own a 3.31 ERA as a pitching staff led by a trio of relief pitchers in Brady McLean (0.00, 2.1 inn.), Kevin Napoleon (0.93, 19.1 inn.) and Kenten Egbert (1.37, 19.1 inn.). Sam Bachman leads the starting rotation with a 1.69 ERA and a 2-2 overall record in seven starting appearances. He threw 32.0 innings eight runs, six earned runs on 11 hits with 53 strikeouts and 11 walks. Grant Hartwig (3.61 ERA, 2-3) and Jonathan Brand (3.67 ERA, 2-1) also have seven starting appearances each. Hartwig owns 53 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitches, while Brand has fanned 48 batters in 34.1 innings of work. Tyler Bosma (4.40 ERA, 0-2) is the fourth weekend starter with 30.2 innings pitched and 40 K's.

ZIPS QUICK HITS

Fett named MAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, May 17
The Zips had three complete game showings against the Bobcats
Meyer earned game four win against Ohio, 9-8
Jacob Clark threw a complete 7-inning game against Ohio, L 4-0
Heydinger earned a 7-inning complete game win against Ohio, 3-1
Fett earned a complete 9-inning game win in Ohio series opener, 4-2
Akron wins first MAC series since 2015, Defeating Ohio 3-1
Steinbaugh relinquishes first walk of the season 28 K's in MAC play and 39 K's for the season
Zips posted another MAC win defeating Kent State 2-1
Zips snapped a 25-game winless streak, Defeating NIU 7-4 on the road.
Bryant Shellenbarger leads the offense with 21 hits and a .328 BA
Tate Wargo went 3-of-3 against Ball State with BB and HBP
Zips are looking to snap a 22-game setback streak
SP Conor Steinbaugh has 33 K's with 0 BB and 2 HBP
Zips swept the MAC doubleheader against EMU, marking the first two league wins for head coach Chris Sabo and the first MAC win since 2015 for the program.
Barr went 8-17 against EMU with 3 RBI a homerun and a double, including a 4-for-6 performance in the extra-inning setback.
Akron has 11 student-athletes on its roster from the state of Ohio.
Head coach Chris Sabo played third base for the Cincinnati Reds [1988-93, 1996-97].

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Akron opened its 118th season in 2021 after a four-year hiatus and a shortened 12-game season. With the resurrection of baseball for the 2020 season on the University of Akron campus came the renovation of its home field.

A part of the Lee R. Jackson Athletics Complex, Skeeles Field underwent major renovation in the Fall of 2019. Thanks to the generous gift from Bill '77 and Mary Skeeles, the new playing surface is 110,00 square feet of playing area covered with Sprinturf Ultra-blade, including the pitching mound, batter's box, and bullpens. A complete re-grading of the infield surface took place first before a drainage system was added. A 25-foot Daktronics inning-by-inning scoreboard will be installed in March 2020. Future additions include bleacher seating and a pressbox.

MAC PREDICTIONS
Central Michigan was selected to win the 2021 Mid-American Conference title in a preseason poll conducted by the league's 11 head coaches.

The Chippewas won both the MAC regular-season and tournament championships in 2019, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.

It was Jordan Bischel's first season in charge of the program, and he was named the MAC Coach of the Year after leading his club to a program-record-tying 47 victories. CMU's .770 win percentage (47-14) was the fifth best in the nation and the Chippewas improved their win total by 18 games over the previous season.

The MAC baseball season begins on Friday, February 19, while conference play starts up Friday, March 19. For more information visit getsomemaction.com or follow the MAC on Twitter at @MACSports.

2021 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Michigan (4 first place votes) – 111 points
2. Kent State (5) – 110 points
T3. Miami (1) – 96 points
T3. Ball State – 96 points
5. Northern Illinois (1) – 72 points
6. Western Michigan – 63 points
7. Ohio – 56 points
8. Toledo – 45 points
9. Eastern Michigan – 36 points
10. Bowling Green – 28 points
11. Akron – 13 points

Zips Baseball Travels to Miami for #MACtion Series Season Finale

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Players Mentioned

Justin Barr

Jacob Clark

Anthony Fett

Bradley Goulet

Taed Heydinger

Jackson Miller

Connor Regan

Jerry Reinhart

Bryant Shellenbarger

Conor Steinbaugh

Cameron Tilly

Tate Wargo

The University of Akron Athletics