The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Eastern Michigan
Zips Begin Conference Play With Eastern Michigan on Friday
March 06 | Baseball
AKRON, Ohio -Â Â The Zips continue their homestand with the Eastern Michigan Eagles coming to Skeeles Field for the first MAC series of the season starting on Friday, March 7.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Gm1: Stats | No Video
Gm2: Stats | Video
Gm3: Stats | Video
INSIDE THE SERIES
Eastern Michigan Leads 37-29 | Faulds vs EMU: 3-0
First Met: 1989 (EMU 8, Akron 3) at EMU
Last Met: Apr. 21, 2024 (Akron 15, EMU 5) at EMU
COMMON OPPONENTS (Non-MAC Schools)
Pittsburgh (ACC), Ohio State (BIG 10), Michigan (BIG 10), Youngstown State (Horizon)
SCOUTING REPORT
The Eagles come into the series with a 4-6 overall record with all 10 games played outside of Ypsilanti and the first home game not set till March 21 when Miami comes to Oestrike Stadium.
Eastern Michigan recently went 2-2 against the Presbyterian Blue Hose. The Eagles took games one and three while PC took games two and four.
In the final game of the series, Devan Zirwas went 3-for-4 from the plate with one home run and two RBI, the game marked his fourth multi-hit game of the season and third with multiple-RBI. He also continued a team-high and season-long nine-game reached-base streak.
Zirwas leads the Eagles in batting average (.389), doubles (7), and total bases (27). Harrison Travis leads the Eagles in home runs (4) while Logan Higo is the leader in RBI (13) and shared the lead in walks (6) with John Hale. Hale is the leader in stolen bases (7).
On the mound, Drew Beckner holds the lead for wins (2) and innings pitched (17.1) while Nick Keane is the leader in ERA (1.08) and saves (1) after 8.1 innings and five appearances. Tyler Kapa has the most strikeouts on the EMU pitching staff (22).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Akron is coming off an 11-5 home victory over Oakland on March 5. The Akron Zips took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and never trailed from there on the way to an 11-5 win against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Offensively, the Zips were paced by Caden Matlon, who went 1-for-5 on the day with a home run and two RBI. Jack Poist put together a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and two RBI. Ian Pennington also helped out for Akron, putting together three hits in five trips to the plate while adding a double.
Nine Zips threw an inning each with Taylor Bednar getting the win. Josiah Ross struck out the side in his lone innings with just 10 pitches.
Poist leads the Zips in batting average (.356), hits (16), home runs (2) and total bases (28) while sharing the lead with Max Bowman in triples (1). Andrew Horvath leads the way in doubles (5) while Evan Bottone is the leader in runs (15) and stolen bases (7).
On the mound, five Zips share the lead for wins (1) while Johnny Anservitz holds the lead in ERA (0.00) and saves (1). Jared Schaeffer and Jack Kelley share the lead for innings pitched (12.0) and strikeouts (13).
LAST TIME AGAINST EASTERN MICHIGAN (4/21/25)
YPSILANTI, Mich. -Â Four home runs resulting in seven runs in the eighth inning highlighted a 15-5 victory for the Akron baseball team over Eastern Michigan on Sunday to sweep the conference series.
Evan Bottone picked up six RBI, four of which came on a grand slam in the eighth inning. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored twice. Bottone was one of five Zips to record multiple hits against the Eagles, with Max Bowman, Sam Seeker, James Strom and Austin Lafferty all recording multi-hit games.Â
Lafferty led the Zips with a 3-for-5 day that featured three runs, one RBI and one stolen base. Outside of Bottone's six RBI day, both Bowman and Charlie Schebler racked up three RBI each.
Five Zips left the yard on Sunday. Schebler got the scoring started in the first with a two-run blast while Bottone, Bowman, Sprockett and Seeker all bashed in the eighth.
Yassir Kahook (2-1) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Akron (9-30, 4-14). The right-hander went 1.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits. Emmett Gillies also made an impact on the mound for the Zips, throwing two shutout innings while allowing one hit, with one walk and one strikeout.
MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK X2
Akron senior outfielder Jack Poist was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday (Mar.3).
Poist has been named Player of the Week twice this season after earning the award the first week of the season (Feb. 17).
Highlighted by hitting for the cycle which included the go-ahead home run in the 10th inning to push Akron to a 10-9 victory over Purdue, Poist helped the Zips earn a pair of wins this week.
Jack opened the week by scoring three times while stealing a base on Wednesday in an 11-2 win against Youngstown State.
Poist would explode for six hits on Saturday in a doubleheader against the Boilermakers. He recorded a pair of hits and an RBI in game one while hitting for the cycle in game two. Jack would go 4-for-5 in the second game against Purdue while scoring twice and driving in four runs.
HERE'S JOHNNY
Coming in with two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning in a tied game against Purdue, Johnny Anservitz shut down the Boilermakers over 2.2 innings of work to help the Zips take a 10-9 victory on March 1.
Anservitz dealt 2.2 scoreless innings against Purdue while allowing zero hits and pilling up five strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.
In four appearances this season, Johnny has allowed no runs while striking out eight batters over 5.2 innings of work.
FLY THE FLAG
In his time leading the Zips, coach Bryan Faulds has collected wins over three power-five opponents. Faulds holds wins over Illinois, Duke and most recently Purdue.
ON DECK
Akron stays at Skeeles Field when it hosts Dayton on March 11 for a 2 p.m. start.
