Late Rally Lifts Zips Over BG in Game 1, 6-4

Friday, April 1

Bowling Green, Ohio

3:00 PM

University of Akron

Bowling Green State University

April 01 | Baseball

Box Score

Late Rally Lifts Zips Over BG in Game 1, 6-4
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Box Score PDF

Akron, Ohio – The Akron Zips used five consecutive singles to push three runs across the plate in the top of the ninth inning for a 6-4 win at Bowling Green on Friday night.

The Zips scored one run in the first, third and eighth inning to set-up the ninth-inning rally. Freshman Ian Pennington (Springboro, Ohio) started the scoring with a solo-homerun in the opening frame and freshman Cameron Benson (Farmington Hills, Mich.) pushed Pennington across the plate with a double in the third for Akron's first two runs. Bowling Green answered the Zips early scoring innings and established a 4-2 advantage by the end of the fifth inning. Akron pulled within one run in the top of the eighth as freshman Andrew Horvath (Aurora, Ohio) sacrifice flyout plated freshman Michael Sprockett (West Chester, Ohio), who reached on a lead-off double to right field.

In the top of the ninth, the Zips offensive onslaught started with a Benson infield single followed by a base hit from graduate student Nick Arrivo (Ann Arbor, Mich.). With runners at second and third due to an errant throw, senior Bryant Shellenbarger (Mount Vernon, Ohio) singled to right to score Benson and knot the game at 4-4, while Sprockett blasted a hit through the right side for the go-ahead run, plating Arrivo. Graduate student Justin Barr (Pensacola, Fla.) added an insurance run with a base-knock to centerfield as Shellenbarger crossed the plate.

With the 6-4 lead, relief pitcher junior Brett Dietrich (Goshen, Ohio) closed the door and secured the win by retiring the side by getting a pop-fly and a groundout before ending the game with a strikeout.

The Zips scattered 11 hits around the yard as Benson led the offense with a 3-for-5 performance which included a double and a run scored. Shellenbarger and Sprockett delivered two hits each with both players scoring and driving in a run.

On the mound, relief pitcher Sammy Tortorella (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned the win, throwing three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and one hit, while Dietrich picked-up the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning performance. Starting pitcher Taed Heydinger (Bayfield, Colo.) threw five innings, allowing 10 hits and two earned runs while striking out seven batters.

Games two and three of the series is set for Saturday, April 2 with a noon first pitch at Steller Field in Bowling Green. Fans can follow the action via live stats on GoZips.com.