Akron Faces Busy Week Traveling to Pitt and Miami

Tuesday, April 18

Pittsburgh, Pa.

3:00 PM

University of Akron

Pittsburgh

Akron Faces Busy Week Traveling to Pitt and Miami

April 17 | Softball

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's softball team will square off in a non-conference doubleheader at Pittsburgh on Tuesday (April 18) before a facing a road test with a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Miami beginning on Friday (April 21).

WHAT'S AHEAD:
Akron and Pittsburgh will battle in a doubleheader on Tuesday starting at 3 p.m. The Zips then travel to Oxford, Ohio for a showdown with Miami at 5 p.m. on Friday, before concluding the three-game set with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 22).

April 17 at Pittsburgh (DH Game 1) | 3 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video ($)
April 17 at Pittsburgh (DH Game 2) | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video ($)
April 21 at Miami | 5 p.m. | Live Stats
April 22 at Miami (DH Game 1) | 1 p.m. | Live Stats
April 22 at Miami (DH Game 2) | 3 p.m. | Live Stats

$ ACCNX (subscription may be required)

SCOUTING AKRON:
Akron enters action against Pittsburgh with a 25-15 ledger on the campaign, including a 13-7 mark in the Mid-American Conference under the direction of first-year head coach Craig Nicholson. The Zips have won eight in a row and sit in second place in the league standings behind conference leader Ohio (14-6) and just ahead of Miami and Central Michigan at 11-6 apiece.

In their 47th season of intercollegiate competition in 2023, the Zips returned 18 players from the Zips' 2022 squad and added six newcomers to the 2023 roster.

Freshman INF Brooke Sivek (Boerne, Texas) leads the offensive exploits for the Zips batting a team-best .342 on the strength of team-high marks in at-bats (149), runs (35), hits (51) and stolen bases (21). Sophomore INF Alexis Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.) leads Akron in home runs (3), RBI (29) and total bases (57).

The pitching duo of freshman Haley Croyle (Hubbard, Ohio) and redshirt senior P Alexa DiFeo (Akron, Ohio) have combined to toss 228.1 innings en route to posting 107 and 83 strikeouts, respectively.

Redshirt junior Jaiden Bryant (Hilliard, Ohio) is rated 28th in the NCAA in triples (4), while Campbell ranks 29th in sacrifice flies (4). Additionally, Sivek is rated 37th in hits (52), 39th in stolen bases (21) and 47th in steals per contest (0.52) and redshirt junior Laurel DeVoe (North Canton, Ohio) is ranked 36th in doubles per tilt (0.32). On the mound, DiFeo is 31st in walks allowed per seven innings (1.13) and 50th in at-bats (129), runs (25), hits (42) and stolen bases (13) in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.61) and Croyle is 31st in saves (3).

As a team, Akron ranks first in the Mid-American Conference in at-bats (1,110) and ERA (2.70), third in strikeouts (211) and fielding percentage (.966), fourth in doubles (55), hits (314), runs (197) and RBI (164) and fifth in batting average (.283) and triples (7).

Individually, Sivek is third in the MAC in hits (51) and in third in runs scored (35), while Campbell ranks sixth in RBI (29).

SCOUTING PITTSBURGH:
Pittsburgh enters play against Akron at 19-19 on the year, including a 3-11 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Yvonne Whaley owns team-best .442 batting average and team-high marks runs (29), hits (50), doubles (17), triple (1) and RBI (28). In the circle, the duo of Abby Edwards and Dani Drogemuller have combined to pitch 180.0 innings and maintain 4.06 and 4.12 ERA's, respectively, en route to striking out 168 batters.

SCOUTING MIAMI:
Miami comes into competition against Akron at 24-16 on the year, including an 11-6 mark in the Mid-American Conference. Holly Blaska maintains a team-best .352 batting average, while adding team-high marks in doubles (10). In the circle, the duo of Brianna Pratt and Taylor Turner have combined to pitch 213.2 innings and maintain 3.48 and 4.97 ERA's, respectively, en route to striking out 172 batters.

SERIES HISTORY:
The all-time series between Akron and Pittsburgh is tied, 6-6, while Miami owns the series advantage versus the Zips, 48-41.

AKRON NOTES:
• The Zips have been a member of the Mid-American Conference for the past 30 years after joining the league in 1993 from the North Star Conference.
• Akron's softball roster in 2023 is compiled of 24 student-athletes from across the United States with seven different states and one Canadian Province represented. The Zips roster consists of 14 players from Ohio, three from California, two from Texas and one each from Indiana, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
• The 2023 season marks the 47th season of intercollegiate competition for the Akron softball program.

UP NEXT:
Akron travels to Cleveland for a doubleheader at Cleveland State on Tuesday, April 25.