Zips Travel to Athens to Battle Bobcats

Zips Travel to Athens to Battle Bobcats
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Akron Zips [13-31, 11-21 MAC] vs Ohio [20-19, 12-12 MAC]
Saturday-Monday, May 7-9 | Bob Wren Stadium| Athens, Ohio

GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats -  https://ohiobobcats.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary

Watch GM1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEhLuW-3hiw
Watch GM2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyyxusbLDw4
Watch GM3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92Y2It67H4o
Watch GM4 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgXhsqbrPSI

WHAT'S AHEAD
Akron baseball continues Mid-American Conference play after eclipsing the Zips MAC win total from last season with a 11-21 mark. Akron is 13-31 overall and travels to Athens, Ohio for a four-game series against the Ohio Bobcats at Bob Wren Stadium. First pitch on Saturday, May 7 is slated for 4 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Sunday, May 8, and the series finale on Monday, May 9, both days starting at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the series on OhioBobcatTV on YouTube and follow all four games via live stats on GoZips.com.

Under the guidance of third-year head coach Chris Sabo, the Zips are coming off a series split against rival Kent State.

Akron is hitting .247 as a team with 337 hits, including a .247 in league average with 238 hits. Justin Barr (Pensacola, Fla.) returned to the line-up after a hamstring injury and is hitting a team-best .340 in league played through 15 games. He is 18-for-53 with seven RBI and nine runs scored. Freshman Cameron Benson (Farmington Hills, Mich.) adds with .262 BA, distributing third-best 27 hits in 103 at-bats with a three homeruns and six doubles and14 RBI with 13 runs scored. Graduate student Nick Arrivo (Ann Arbor, Mich.) owns .261 BA on with a second-best 29 hits in 111 at-bats, including one homerun, three doubles with 14 RBI and 11 runs scored. Senior Bryant Shellenbarger (Mount Vernon, Ohio) owns a team-high 34 hits in league play with a .296 BA, including four homeruns, two triples and four doubles for 19 RBI and 17 runs scored. Freshman Michael Sprockett (West Chester, Ohio) unleashed four bombs last week to lead the Zips in homeruns, including a pair of game winners.

The Series
Last season, the Zips claimed the series, winning 3-of-4 games for their first MAC series win since 2015.

Ohio Bobcats
Ohio won four of the last six games in a series split with Miami and a two-game sweep of Canisius. The Bobcats are 20-19 on the season and 12-12 in MAC play. Ohio is hitting .291 as a team in league play with 38 homeruns. Colin Kasperbauer (.379), Isaiah Peterson (.342) and Mason Minzey (.310) lead the Bobcats with 50, 51 and 45 hits, respectively. Spencer Harbert leads the squad with nine homeruns followed by Minzey (7) and AJ Rausch (6).

MAC Standings
Ball State - 23-4 MAC - 29-14 Overall - W8
Central Michigan - 22-5 MAC - 28-14 Overall - W1
Toledo - 17-11 MAC - 26-17 Overall - W11
Ohio - 12-12 MAC - 20-19 Overall - L1
Eastern Michigan 13-15 MAC - 19-25 Overall - W2
Kent State 12-14 MAC - 17-23 Overall - L3
Miami 14-18 MAC -19-26 Overall - L1
Western Michigan 12-16 MAC - 15-27 Overall - L2
Akron 11-21 MAC - 13-31 Overall - W2
Bowling Green 10-20 MAC - 13-28 Overall - L2
Northern Illinois   8-18 MAC - 9-33 Overall - W1

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)

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Players Mentioned

Nick Arrivo

Justin Barr

Cameron Benson

Bryant Shellenbarger

Michael Sprockett

The University of Akron Athletics