Zips Fall Twice to Presbyterian to Begin Season

Friday, February 13

Clinton, SC

2:00 pm (7 Innings)

University of Akron

0-1

Presbyterian

1-0

Akron

Presbyterian

February 13 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Boxscore (PDF)Game 2 Boxscore (PDF)

CLINTON, S.C. - The Akron baseball team held leads in both games of a doubleheader against Presbyterian on Friday, but fell 8-6 in both contests.

GAME 1 | Presbyterian 8, Akron 6
Brody Chrisman put together a brilliant performance at the plate Friday, hitting two home runs, but the Akron Zips fell to the Presbyterian Blue Hose 8-6.

Chrisman went 2-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with two RBI. Blake Bowen added to Chrisman's power-hitting performance by going 2 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Brennan Morgan also helped out for the Zips, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI. Kelton Phillips added a 3-for-5 perforance to add to Zips' offense

Taylor Bednar (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Akron (0-1). Samuel Guadamuz got the start in the season opener, going four innings while Floyd McKenna also action with 1.2 innings of work.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Zips got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning.

After the Blue Hose rallied to tie the ballgame at three, the Zips came back to retake the lead in the fifth inning. Akron picked up a run on Chrisman's one-out solo home run off of Robbie Boykin, which brought the Zips lead to 4-3.

Presbyterian fought back to even the ballgame at four before Akron reclaimed a 6-4 advantage in the seventh inning. Akron picked up two runs, including one on a solo homer off the bat of Chrisman. The Zips were unable to hold the lead, as Presbyterian scored four times in the bottom half of the seventh to grab the 8-6 win.

GAME NOTES

» Akron got a two-homer day from Chrisman.

» The Zips got three-hit games from both Phillips and Morgan.

» Akron's power output was led by Chrisman, who compiled two extra base hits in the ballgame.

» Akron's highest scoring inning was the first, when it pushed three runs across.

» Four Akron hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame.

» The Zips took Presbyterian pitchers deep three times on Friday.

» Phillips stole two bases in Friday's game.

» Akron pitchers faced 32 Presbyterian hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and six fly balls while striking out six.

» Chrisman led the Zips at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two home runs and two RBI.

GAME 2 | Presbyterian 8, Akron 6
The Akron Zips took a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning, but could not hang on and fell 8-6 to the Presbyterian Blue Hose Friday.

At the plate, the Zips were led by Brody Chrisman, who went 2-for-5 on the day with two RBIs. Easton Amundson compiled a noteworthy performance as well, going 1-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. Henry Hayman also contributed for Akron, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double, a walk and an RBI.

Josiah Ross (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Akron (0-2). Garrett Groce was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going 1.1 shutout innings without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out one.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Zips were trailing 2-0 in the third inning when they first put runs on the board. Akron scored twice, with one run coming across on Chrisman's single.

The game remained tied until the very next inning, when the Zips got going again on offense. Akron pushed across a run on Hayman's RBI double, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Zips.

Akron kept Presbyterian scoreless before building their lead to 5-2 the following inning. The Zips picked up two runs in the frame, punctuated with an RBI triple off the bat of Amundson.

Akron surrendered the lead they built in the fifth, but got back on the scoreboard in the eighth trailing 8-5. The Zips scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Chrisman, tightening the Presbyterian lead to 8-6. The Zips were unable to get any closer, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.

GAME NOTES

» Every Zips starter reached base safely in the loss.

» Akron's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed two runs across.

» Akron left 11 runners stranded on base in the loss.

» The Zips out-hit the Blue Hose at a 9-8 clip.

» Akron pitchers limited Presbyterian to just 2-for-11 (.182) with runners in scoring position.

» Akron pitchers faced 42 Presbyterian hitters in the game, allowing three ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out 11.

» The Zips drew eight walks from Presbyterian pitching.

» Chrisman led the Zips at the plate, going 2 for 5 with two RBI

WHAT'S NEXT?.
Akron and Presbyterian conclude the series on Saturday, February 14 with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.