Akron Travels to Ball State

Akron Travels to Second Rated Ball State
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Akron battles the Mid-American Conference's second ranked Ball State Cardinals in for a four-game series at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark in Muncie, Ind. on Friday through Sunday, April 15-17.

Akron Zips [10-21, 8-12 MAC] vs Ball State [18-12, 12-2 MAC]
Friday-Sunday, April 15-17 | Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark | Muncie, Ind.

GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats - https://bit.ly/3OeFUj1

WHAT'S AHEAD
Akron baseball continues Mid-American Conference play after securing its eighth league win, matching the Zips MAC win total with an 8-12 mark. Akron is 10-21 overall and travels to battle the second rated Ball State Cardinals on Friday through Saturday, April 15-17 at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark. First pitch on Friday, April 15 is slated for 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, April 16, and the series finale on Sunday, April 17, both days starting at noon. Fans can follow all four games via live stats on GoZips.com.

Under the guidance of third-year head coach Chris Sabo, the Zips split the last series with MAC-foe Western Michigan, Winning the first (10-6) and last (4-2) games of the set. Akron dropped Saturday's doubleheader (2-1 and 12-0).

Akron is hitting .258 as a team with 254 hits, including a .264 in league average with 161 hits. Justin Barr (Pensacola, Fla.) returned to the line-up after a hamstring injury and is hitting a team-best .417 in league played through six games. He is 10-for-24 with six RBI and three runs scored. Senior Tate Wargo (Benld, Ill.) leads the Zips' offense with a .310 BA on 26-of-84, including four doubles and a triple with 15 RBI and 15 runs scored. Freshman Cameron Benson (Farmington Hills, Mich.) follows with .304 BA, distributing team-best 34 hits in 112 at-bats with a team-high five homeruns, six doubles and a triple and 22 RBI with 13 runs scored. Graduate student Nick Arrivo (Ann Arbor, Mich.) bats .300 on 33-of-110, including two homeruns, five doubles with 19 RBI and 12 runs scored.

The Series
Last season, the Cardinals swept the four-game series.

Ball State Cardinals
Ball State enters the weekend with an overall record of 18-12 and 12-2 in MAC play. The Cardinals are 7-1 at home and claimed 1-of-4 games from Oregon last weekend. For the season, Ball State is hitting .271 as a team and owns a 5.10 ERA.

The Cardinals have nine players with 20 or more hits and five players batting above .300 as Zach Cole (.333), Nick Powell (.330) and Amir Wright (.330) lead the way. Cole owns a team-high average on 27 hits in 81 at-bats with four triples, three homeruns and three doubles. Powell and Wright are tied with a team-high 38 hits and 115 at-bats. Powell has 23 RBI and 25 runs scored on eight doubles and two bombs, while Wright 26 runs scored and 11 RBI with six doubles, three triples and a homerun. Trenton Quarter leads the team in homeruns (8) on 34 hits and a .315 BA and drove home in a team-high 30 RBI with 23 runs scored and seven doubles.

On the mound, Tyler Schweitzer owns a 4-2 record with 3.16 ERA in 42.2 innings of work. He has struck out 52 batters while allowing 34 hits, 17 walks, and 15 earned runs. Ty Johnson issued 39 strikeouts with 11 free passes en route to a 4-2 overall record and 6.00 ERA. He allowed 34 hits and 27 earned runs in 39.0 innings pitched

MAC PREDICTIONS
Central Michigan was selected to win the 2022 Mid-American Conference title in a preseason poll conducted by the league's 11 head coaches.

The MAC baseball season begins on Friday, February 18, while conference play starts up Friday, March 11. For more information visit getsomemaction.com or follow the MAC on Twitter at @MACSports.

2022 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Michigan — 115 points (6 first place votes)
2. Ball State — 103 points (1)
3. Kent State — 102 points (2)
4. Western Michigan - 75 points
5. Toledo — 73 points (1)
6. Miami — 68 points (1)
7. Ohio — 58 points
8. Eastern Michigan - 45 points
9. Bowling Green — 40 points
10. Northern Illinois — 36 points
11. Akron — 11 points

Tournament Champions: Central Michigan (4), Kent State (3), Ball State (2), Miami (1), Toledo (1)

The University of Akron Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Nick Arrivo

Justin Barr

Cameron Benson

Tate Wargo

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