Softball Travels to Fort Myers for 2024 Season Opener

Friday, February 16

Fort Myers, Fla.

1:30 PM

University of Akron

Middle Tennessee

Softball Travels to Fort Myers for 2024 Season Opener

February 15 | Softball

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron softball team opens the 48^th season of competition as the 2024 campaign starts in Fort Myers, Fla. at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament against three different opponents on Feb. 16-18, playing Middle Tennessee, Florida Gulf Coast and Delaware.

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Zips open the season on Friday, Feb. 16 against Middle Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. followed by a game against the host FGCU at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, Akron plays a second doubleheader against Delaware (11 a.m.) and FGSU (4 p.m.) before ending opening weekend with a second contest versus Middle Tennessee on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 10 a.m.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can follow all five games via live stats. Games against Florida Gulf Coast will be streamed on ESPN Digital.

Feb. 16 vs Middle Tennessee | 1:30 p.m. | Live Stats
Feb. 16 vs FGSU | 6:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video
Feb. 17 vs Delaware | 11 a.m. | Live Stats
Feb. 17 vs FGSU | 4 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video
Feb. 18 vs Middle Tennessee | 10 a.m. | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Against Middle Tennessee
MTSU leads 1-0
First Meeting: MTSU 5 – Akron 0 (2/17/18 | Montgomery, Ala.)

Against Florida Gulf Coast
Series tied 0-0
First Meeting: Friday, Feb. 16 marks first meeting between the two programs.

Against Delaware
Akron Leads 1-0
First Meeting: Akron 4 – Delaware 0 (5/3/01 | Virginia Beach, Va.)

STAT LEADERS
Akron (2023): Batting Average: Brooke Sivek (.361) | Hits: Brooke Sivek (69) | Home Runs: Alexis Campbell /Abigail Scheller (4) | RBI: Alexis Campbell (38) | Stolen Bases: Brooke (23) | Wins: Haley Croyle (12) | Strikeouts: Haley Croyle (125) | ERA: Haley Croyle (2.53) | Saves: Haley Croyle (3)

MTSU: Batting Average: Julia Garcia (.455) | Hits: Shelby Echols and Ava Brooks (6) | Home Runs: Ashlee Jacoway and Kamryn Carcich (1) | RBI: Amaya Harris and Shelby Echols (2) | Stolen Bases: Shelby Echols (2) | Wins: N/A | Strikeouts: Kamryn Carcich (8) | ERA: Kamryn Carcich (2.77) | Saves: N/A

FGCU: Meagan Ricks (.385) | Hits: Three tied (5) | Home Runs: N/A | RBI: Sam Leski (3) | Stolen Bases: Riley Oakes (2) | Wins: Angelina Bonilla (1) | Strikeouts: Angelina Bonilla (14) | ERA: Angelina Bonilla (1.17) | Saves: N/A

Delaware: Batting Average: Julz Garber (.438) | Hits: Julz Garber (7) | Home Runs: Gianna Costaro (1) | RBI: Julia Boyet (1) | Stolen Bases: Katie Scheivert (4) | Wins: Emily Winburn (2) | Strikeouts: Emily Winburn (9) | ERA: Morgan Hess (0.00) | Saves: Morgan Hess (1)

SCOUTING REPORT
Florida Gulf Coast
The Eagles were selected to finish second in the ASUN in the 2024 preseason coaches poll and received two first-place votes. Neely Peterson was named preseason ASUN catcher of the year by a unanimous vote.

FGCU is currently 1-5 this season after falling to Boston College, Long Island University, and Louisville while defeating Georgetown in the FGCU Kickoff Classic.

The Eagles went 32-26 overall last season and 13-11 in the ASUN which featured a 21-10 home record. FGCU went 1-2 in the ASUN Tournament last season which saw a 3-1 loss to Central Arkansas to conclude the season.

Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders were selected to finish third in the 2024 C-USA preseason coaches poll. Shelby Sargent, Shelby Echols, and Anyce Harvey were tabbed to the preseason team.

Middle Tennessee is currently 0-5 on the season with losses to UC Davis, Saint Mary's, Cal Poly, Sacramento State, and San Jose State.

The 2023 season saw the Blue Raiders go 42-20 overall and 13-10 in C-USA. Middle Tennessee was 13-5 in neutral site contests. MTSU went on to win the conference tournament in program history with a 3-2 win over North Texas before going 3-2 in the NCAA Regionals.

Delaware
The Blue Hens were picked to finish first in the CAA preseason coaches poll. Delaware, the two-time reigning CAA regular season champions, earned three first-place votes. Emily Winburn, Julz, Garber, and Morgan Hess were named to the conference preseason watch list.

Delaware is currently 2-3 on the season after picking up wins over East Tennessee State and Youngstown State at the Gardner-Webb Tournament.

The Blue Hens went 29-20 overall last season and 18-5 in the CAA. The top-seeded University of Delaware saw its 2023 season come to an end after falling 1-0 to No. 7 Stony Brook in an elimination game at the CAA Tournament.

ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Under second-year head coach Craig Nicholson, Akron enters the 48th season of intercollegiate competition in 2024. The Zips return 10 players from the 2023 squad and added 12 newcomers to the 2024 roster.

Akron posted a 28-23 overall record and 16-13 mark in MAC play a season ago, including an 8-4 record in neutral site games, 11-11 on the road and 9-8 at home. The Zips finished fifth in league play and missed a MAC Tournament birth by one game (only 4 teams).

Akron had three All-MAC honorees and a pair of NFCA All-Mideast Region players led by IF Brooke Sivek (Boerne, Texas), who garnered First-Team All-Mid-American Conference softball accolades. In addition, a trio of Zips freshmen earned MAC All-Freshmen honors as Sivek, P Haley Croyle (Hubbard, Ohio) and OF Meagan Lee (Leander, Texas). Sivek was also named third-team all-region, while DP Laurel DeVoe (North Canton, Ohio) second-team all-region

Sivek led the offense for the Zips, batting a team-best .361 on the strength of team-high marks in at-bats (191), total bases (73), hits (69), runs (42) and stolen bases (23). Junior INF Alexis Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.) and sophomore C/INF Abigail Scheller (North Hills, Pa.) led Akron in home runs with four each, while Campbell paced the team in RBI (38) and was second in total bases (69).

The Zips return their top pitcher in sophomore Haley Croyle (Hubbard, Ohio. Croyle hurled a team-best 135.2 innings and dished out 125 strike outs. She made 30 appearances with 19 of those in a starting capacity. Croyle registered a team-high 11 complete games and limited opponents to a .200 batting average.

MAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Zips were picked to finish 5th in the 2024 MAC Preseason Poll, which was released by the conference on February 2. Miami was picked to finish first with six first-place votes, while the RedHawks were also slated to win the MAC Tournament with five votes.

(First Place Votes)
1. Miami (6) – 95 points
2. Ohio (3) – 91 points
3. Central Michigan (1) – 84 points
4. Ball State – 69 points
5. Akron (1) – 64 points
6. Northern Illinois – 53 points
7. Toledo – 48 points
8. Kent State – 39 points
T9. Buffalo – 25 points
T9. Western Michigan – 25 points
11. Bowling Green – 12 points
MAC Tournament Champion: Miami (5), Ohio (3), Central Michigan (2), Akron (1)

ON DECK
The Zips travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on a trio of opponents on Friday through Sunday, Feb. 23-25. Akron play a pair of games against Monmouth and Kentucky and a single game against USC Upstate.