The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Northern Illinois
Zips Head to Northern Illinois for Conference Action Starting Thursday
April 16 | Baseball
AKRON, Ohio - The Akron baseball team returns to conference action with a three-game series at Northern Illinois.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday: Stats | Video
Friday: Stats | Video
Saturday: Stats | Video
INSIDE THE SERIES
Northern Illinois Leads 40-23 | Fauld vs NIU: 1-2
First Met: April 11, 1992 (NIU 10, Akron 9)
Last Met: Mar. 17, 2024 (Akron 2, NIU 1)
COMMON OPPONENTS (NON-MAC SCHOOLS)
Purdue (BIG 10)
SCOUTING REPORT
Northern Illinois comes into the series with a 13-22 overall record, a 3-12 record in the MAC and a 2-6 record at home.
The Huskies are coming off a 27-11 victory at Northwestern where they set the program single-game scoring record and CJ Cepicky hit two grand slams against the Wildcats. This is NIU's second consecutive win over a Big Ten team this year, as well as its second straight win over the Wildcats. It's the first time NIU has beaten multiple Big Ten teams in a season since 2003 when the Huskies earned wins over Michigan, Illinois and Iowa.
Another piece of NIU baseball history was made on Tuesday as Cepicky  became the first Huskie to hit two grand slams in the same game. His slam over the right-center field wall in the second inning put NIU ahead 5-1. He came up to bat with the bases loaded again in the top of the seventh and cracked his second grand slam to left center, making the score 27-10 and putting an exclamation point on the Huskies' record-setting offensive outburst. His eight RBI on the day tied the NIU single-game individual record.
Logan Gregorio leads the Huskies in batting average (.338), hits (51), doubles (14), home runs (14) and RBI (51). Gavin Baldwin is the leader in walks (25) while Charlie Parcell leads the Huskies in stolen bases (10).
On the mound, Alex Graber leads the way in ERA (4.26) through six appearances and 6.1 innings of work. Adam Brouwer is the leader in wins (3), innings pitched (49.0) and strikeouts (51). Danny Cihocki leads the pitching staff in saves (3).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
The Zips are coming off a 1-3 week that included a walk-off win over Central Michigan to conclude the series.
The Akron Zips rallied to score five in the ninth inning and walked it off on Charlie Schebler's three-run double to pick up the 7-6 win over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Sunday.
Andrew Horvath led the Zips last week with a .462 average against CMU. Horvath had a 4-for-5 performance in the series finale that included a home run. He had four RBI and three runs in the series.
Four Zips hit above .400 against CMU with Evan Bottone and Kyle McConachie recording six and five hits respectively. Jack Poist drove in six runs against the Chippewas on three hits and one double.
Evan Bottone leads the Zips in batting average (.317), hits (45) and stolen bases (11). Horvath, who is tied for second in batting average with Max Bowman (.315) is the leader in doubles (11). Blake Bowen is the leader in home runs (5) and RBI (25) and Bowman is the leader in walks (29).
On the mound, Jacob Beall is the leader in ERA (3.86) after 14 appearances and 14 innings of work. Jack Kelley leads the pitching staff in wins (2) while Johnny Anservitz holds the high mark in saves (3). Jared Schaeffer is the leader in innings pitched (53.2) and strikeouts (46).
WHAT'S NEXT?
Akron has a pair of non-conference games next week. The Zips host Cedarville on Monday, April 21, before traveling to Ohio State on Tuesday, April 22.
