Akron Softball Opens 2025 Season in South Carolina

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron softball team opens the 49th season of competition as the 2025 campaign begins in Spartanburg, S.C. at the Spartan Classic at Cyrill Stadium hosted by USC Upstate. The Zips are scheduled to battle three different opponents on Feb. 7-9, playing Monmouth, USC Upstate and Bowling Green.

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Zips open the season with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 7 against Monmouth at 10 a.m. followed by a game against the host USC Upstate at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday (Feb. 8), Akron plays a second doubleheader against Monmouth (10 a.m.) and Upstate (5:30 p.m.) before ending opening weekend with a non-conference game versus league foe Bowling Green on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can follow all five games via live stats, while the first game against Upstate will be streamed on ESPN Digital (Feb. 7 @ 12:30 p.m.).

Feb. 7 vs Monmouth | 10 a.m. | Live Stats
Feb. 7 vs USC Upstate | 12:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+)
Feb. 8 vs Monmouth | 10 a.m. | Live Stats
Feb. 8 vs USC Upstate | 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats
Feb. 9 vs Bowling Green | 10 a.m. | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Against Monmouth
Series tied 0-2
First Meeting: : Akron 2 – Monmouth 3 (2/35/24 | Spartanburg, S.C.)
Last Meeting: Akron 2 – Monmouth 6 (2/25/24 | Spartanburg, S.C.)

Against USC Upstate
Series tied 1-1
First Meeting: Akron 1 – USC Upstate 7 (2/20/16 | Spartanburg, S.C.)
Last Meeting: Akron 7 – USC Upstate 5 (2/24/24 | Spartanburg, S.C.)

Against Bowling Green
The Falcons lead the series 60-33-1, however Akron has won 5 of the last 6 games against the Falcons. Last season (2024), the Zips opened a three-game set with a doubleheader sweep by scores of 4-2 and 7-5 but fell in the series finale (7-6) at BGSU. In 2023, Akron swept the series 10-2, 7-1, and 11-1 at home.

SCOUTING REPORTS
Monmouth
Monmouth finished the 2024 campaign with an 18-33 overall mark and 10-15 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). In 2025, the Hawks were selected to finish eighth in the Preseason Coaches Poll. Junior third baseman Savannah Simons was named to the 2025 Preseason All-CAA Team. In 2024, Simons led the Hawks in offense with a .323 batting average, 52 hits, and 64 total bases after starting all 51 games.

USC Upstate
USC Upstate won the 2024 Big South Tournament while posting a 30-23 overall record and 13-5 league mark. The Spartans were selected to finish first in the Big Sky Preseason Poll with the preseason Pitcher of the Year selection and three preseason all-league players for 2025.

The Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year selection, Sierra Maness, appeared in 30 games in the 2024, finishing with a 13-11 record and 124 strikeouts. Alanna Deal, Taliyah Thomas and Denver Lauer earned preseason all-league recognition. Deal started all 53 games in 2024 with 144 at bats and 35 hits for a .243 batting average with six doubles, and three home runs.Lauer started 53 games in 2024 with 165 at bats and 54 hits, posting a team-leading .354 batting average with seven doubles, four home runs and 29 RBIs. She ranked top-five nationally for stolen bases per game and total stolen bases with 43 steals. Thomas made 47 starts in 2024, generating 145 at-bats with 42 hits and a .290 batting average with three doubles, three home runs, 27 RBIs, while sporting a 27-for-30 performance in stolen bases.

Bowling Green
Bowling Green finished the 2024 season with an 6-38 overall record and 3-23 in the MAC. The Falcons were selected to finish 11^th in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll. BGSU
returns shortstop Cameron Kaufman who appeared in 40 games with a .234 batting average, 25 hits, eight RBIs, and five stolen bases.

ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Under third-year head coach Craig Nicholson, Akron enters the 49th season of intercollegiate competition in 2025. The Zips return 18 players from the 2024 squad and added seven newcomers to the 2025 roster.

Akron posted a 23-29 overall record and 11-14 mark in MAC play a season ago, including an 4-8 record in neutral site games, 10-15 on the road and 9-6 at home. The Zips finished seventh in league play and missed a MAC Tournament birth by one game (only 6 teams). Akron returns three All-MAC honorees in OF Meagan Lee, UT Lily Sullivan and IF Sophia Wygast. In addition, Sullivan and Wygast were name to the All-MAC Freshman squad.

Lee led the Zips offense with a .435 batting average in 177 at-bats and scattered a team-high 77 hits. In 52 games played, the slapper launched one homerun with 14 RBI while registering 32 runs scored. Lee had the second-highest stolen base total (16 of 19) and posted a team-high .471 on base percentage with 12 free passes. In 2023, Lee was an ALL-MAC Freshman team selection.

Sullivan played right field and third base, starting all 52 games. She was second on the squad in batting average, hitting .312 on the season. In 154 at-bats, Sullivan scattered 48 hits with a team-high seven doubles and one homerun. She recorded a second-best 22 RBI and touched 58 total bases with 19 runs scored. Sullivan registered a .377 slugging percentage and a .379 on-base percentage with 10 walks and eight hit by pitches.

Wygast started 47 games and made 50 appearances in her freshman debut. She led the team with 16 extra-base hits, including a team-high 11 homeruns coupled with five doubles. In 145 at-bats, Wygast supplied 45 hits to generate a team-high 43 RBI and a team-best .572 slugging percentage. She earned 14 walks and was hit by one pitch for a .370 on-base percentage and scored 16 runs.

The Zips return their top two pitchers Macy Walters (3.73 ERA) and Haley Croyle (4.52 ERA).
Walters hurled a team-high 125.2 innings with 30 appearances 10 complete games. She recorded a team-best 76 strikeouts and 50 walks, while allowing 67 earned runs on 130 hits.
Croyle hurled a second-best 105.1 innings and dished out 45 strike outs. She made 28 appearances with 19 of those in a starting capacity.

MAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Zips were picked to finish 7th in the 2025 MAC Preseason Poll, which was released by the conference on February 3. Ohio was picked to finish first with eight first-place votes, while the Bobcats were also slated to win the MAC Tournament with nine votes.

(First Place Votes)
1. Ohio (8) – 96 points
2. Miami (1) – 80 points
3. Toledo (1) – 76 points
4. Ball State (1) – 73 points
5. Central Michigan – 65 points
6. Western Michigan – 62 points
7. Akron – 54 points
8. Northern Illinois – 35 points
9. Kent State – 31 points
10. Buffalo – 20 points
11. Bowling Green – 13 points

MAC Tournament Champion: Ohio (9), Ball State (1), Toledo (1)

ON DECK
The Zips travel to Texas for a 10-day road swing with a dozen games which includes two tournaments and a pair of non-conference games. Akron is scheduled to start the journey at the Tarleton State Tournament (Feb. 14-16, 5 games) with additional games against Incarnate Word (Feb. 18) and Texas (Feb. 19) before heading to San Antonio for the UTSA Tournament (Feb. 20-23) for five games against UTSA, Sam Houston, Michigan State, Nebraska Omaha and St. Thomas.

Akron Softball Opens 2025 Season in South Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haley Croyle

Meagan Lee

Lily Sullivan

Macy Walters

Sophia Wygast

The University of Akron Athletics