The University of Akron Athletics
Saturday, April 2
Akron, Ohio
1:00 PM
University of Akron
vs
Northern Illinois University
Zips Host Northern Illinois for Weekend Series
April 01 | Softball
AKRON, Ohio- The Akron Zips softball team (7-19, 2-3 MAC) will host Northern Illinois (8-12, 2-3 MAC) for a weekend series. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2 with the first pitch starting at 1 p.m. The Zips will close out the series on Sunday, April 3 with an 11 a.m. first pitch.
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GAME INFO
The Zips trail the all-time series with Northern Illinois, 28-20-1. Last season, Akron opened with a win in the series opener before falling in the remaining three games.
SCOUTING AKRON
Akron enters its 45th season of intercollegiate competition in 2022. The Zips return 18 players from the Zips' 2021 squad and have added eight newcomers to the 2022 roster.
Akron returns two of their top-four hitter from a year ago in sophomore OF Molly McChesney (Verona, Wis.) who led the offensive exploits last season batting a team-best .260 on the strength of team-high marks in hits (26), runs (17) and stolen bases (15), while ranking second in triples (1). Sophomore Tiffany Stevens (Toledo, Ohio) led the team with nine doubles, while sophomore Laurel DeVoe (North Canton, Ohio) owned a team-best six home runs.
The Zips return a A trio of Akron pitchers have tossed 50 or more innings in the circle, including 98.1, 87.1 and 84.2innings, respectively, from sophomore P Olivia Stefanoni (Hudson, Ohio), senior P Olivia Otani (Canton, Ohio) and redshirt junior Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.). Stefanoni, Petrof and Otani earned 101, 59 and 47 strikeouts, respectively.
 Joining the roster in 2022 are eight newcomers; freshman OF Leea Ibarra (Findlay, Ohio), OF Angela Cirone (Louisville, Ohio), INF Lexi Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.), OF Autumn Bailey (Ashland, Ohio), P Emily Farlin (Stanton, Calif.), INF McKenzie Cornwell (Amherst, Ohio), C/OF Megan Cotton (Sammamish, Wash.), and P Elizabeth Frederick (Williamsburg, Pa.).
The Zips stand 6-18 overall and 1-2 in conference play after sweeping a doubleheader with Robert Morris on Tuesday. Akron earned a 7-2 victory in game one, followed by a 9-4 win in the second game.
Sophomore Jaiden Bryant (Hilliard, Ohio) led the Zips' bats with a 2-run homer in the opening game, followed by a grand slam in the second game. Junior Morgan Cadmus (Canton, Ohio) hit her first homer of the year, while sophomore Carley Auten (Pickerington, Ohio) also hit a homer in the series.
For the season, McChesney leads Akron with 23 hits and a .348 batting average. Bryant has drove in a team-high 11 RBI and has hit four homers. Cirone leads the team with eight stolen bases, while McChesney and Bryant each have a pair.
In the circle, Petrof stands 3-5 overall and has pitched 48.2 innings. She has struck out 41 batters and holds a 4.17ERA.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
NIU stands 8-12 overall and 2-3 in MAC after dropping a pair of games to Miami (OH) last Friday. The Huskies fell 12-2 in the first game before dropping 9-1 decision in five innings. Katie Keller and Biance Barone each had a pair of hits against Miami with Keller continuing to be one of the hottest hitters in the country as her .508 batting average is ranked fourth nationally.
Keller leads the team with a .508 batting average on 31 hits and three homers. Keller also has a team-high 22 RBI. Kara Apato is batting .391 with 25 hits and leads the team with six stolen bases.
In the circle, Emily Dato stands 4-5 overall with 53 innings of work. She holds a 3.96 ERA giving up 32 runs on 58 hits, while striking out 30 batters.
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GAME INFO
- Game 1: Akron vs. NIU – Sat., April 2; 1PM (Live Stats | ESPN3 )
- Game 2: Akron vs. NIU – Sat., April 2; 3 PM (Live Stats )
- Game 3: Akron vs. NIU – Sun., April 3; 11AM (Live Stats |Video )
The Zips trail the all-time series with Northern Illinois, 28-20-1. Last season, Akron opened with a win in the series opener before falling in the remaining three games.
SCOUTING AKRON
Akron enters its 45th season of intercollegiate competition in 2022. The Zips return 18 players from the Zips' 2021 squad and have added eight newcomers to the 2022 roster.
Akron returns two of their top-four hitter from a year ago in sophomore OF Molly McChesney (Verona, Wis.) who led the offensive exploits last season batting a team-best .260 on the strength of team-high marks in hits (26), runs (17) and stolen bases (15), while ranking second in triples (1). Sophomore Tiffany Stevens (Toledo, Ohio) led the team with nine doubles, while sophomore Laurel DeVoe (North Canton, Ohio) owned a team-best six home runs.
The Zips return a A trio of Akron pitchers have tossed 50 or more innings in the circle, including 98.1, 87.1 and 84.2innings, respectively, from sophomore P Olivia Stefanoni (Hudson, Ohio), senior P Olivia Otani (Canton, Ohio) and redshirt junior Lexie Petrof (Ligonier, Pa.). Stefanoni, Petrof and Otani earned 101, 59 and 47 strikeouts, respectively.
 Joining the roster in 2022 are eight newcomers; freshman OF Leea Ibarra (Findlay, Ohio), OF Angela Cirone (Louisville, Ohio), INF Lexi Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.), OF Autumn Bailey (Ashland, Ohio), P Emily Farlin (Stanton, Calif.), INF McKenzie Cornwell (Amherst, Ohio), C/OF Megan Cotton (Sammamish, Wash.), and P Elizabeth Frederick (Williamsburg, Pa.).
The Zips stand 6-18 overall and 1-2 in conference play after sweeping a doubleheader with Robert Morris on Tuesday. Akron earned a 7-2 victory in game one, followed by a 9-4 win in the second game.
Sophomore Jaiden Bryant (Hilliard, Ohio) led the Zips' bats with a 2-run homer in the opening game, followed by a grand slam in the second game. Junior Morgan Cadmus (Canton, Ohio) hit her first homer of the year, while sophomore Carley Auten (Pickerington, Ohio) also hit a homer in the series.
For the season, McChesney leads Akron with 23 hits and a .348 batting average. Bryant has drove in a team-high 11 RBI and has hit four homers. Cirone leads the team with eight stolen bases, while McChesney and Bryant each have a pair.
In the circle, Petrof stands 3-5 overall and has pitched 48.2 innings. She has struck out 41 batters and holds a 4.17ERA.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
NIU stands 8-12 overall and 2-3 in MAC after dropping a pair of games to Miami (OH) last Friday. The Huskies fell 12-2 in the first game before dropping 9-1 decision in five innings. Katie Keller and Biance Barone each had a pair of hits against Miami with Keller continuing to be one of the hottest hitters in the country as her .508 batting average is ranked fourth nationally.
Keller leads the team with a .508 batting average on 31 hits and three homers. Keller also has a team-high 22 RBI. Kara Apato is batting .391 with 25 hits and leads the team with six stolen bases.
In the circle, Emily Dato stands 4-5 overall with 53 innings of work. She holds a 3.96 ERA giving up 32 runs on 58 hits, while striking out 30 batters.
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Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
C/3B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
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