Sports
‘Cats Round Out Road Stretch Against Zips
By: Kellen Becoats
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The Ohio Bobcats end their lengthy road schedule in Akron with a weekend series against the Zips on Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27 at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Ohio (26-20, 10-4) split the Battle For the Bell doubleheader against Marshall on Wednesday that saw a number of special accomplishments for the Bobcats. Savannah Jo Dorsey earned her 206th strikeout of the season, breaking the school single-season record set in the previous season by Lauren McClary.
The doubleheader also saw Alexandria Basquez slug her team-high 11th RBI of the season. She’s driven in a team-high 38 runs this season, a record that is tied with Nicole Tangerman for fifth-most in a single season in the program’s history. Now, Ohio looks to conclude its travels with two wins against its intra-state opponent.
Akron is 22-13, 7-5 in the conference and hold a 58-25 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, but the Bobcats have won six of the last seven games against the Zips, including their last-season sweep of Akron. Ohio posted a 6-0 win and a 4-2 thriller that went to extras last season.
The Zips recently split a doubleheader against St. Francis, winning the first game 5-1 before dropping the second 6-5 in extras. Despite holding an inferior conference record, Akron is quite dynamic on both sides of the game.
The Zips have six players batting .300 or better this season and the leader of order, senior Jessica Schneider, has hit a team-high 18 RBIs and 10 doubles. On the defensive end, Erin Selier holds a 15-6 record in the circle, sporting a 1.86 ERA and tallying 129 strikeouts in 150 innings.
Basquez, Amanda Dalton, Adrienne Gebele and Casie Hutchinson lead the line for the Bobcats, sporting batting averages of .299, .336, .322, and .291, respectively. The four have combined for 84 of the team’s 190 runs and 88 RBIs.
Dorsey will likely start one of the games in Akron, as she holds a record of 19-14 in the circle and will likely be an important defensive factor for Ohio over the weekend.
This game could prove to be crucial to the Bobcats’ hopes of winning a 2014 Mid-American Conference regular season title. Ohio leads the MAC with a .714 conference record, which is one place ahead of Kent State and Ball State who each hold .700 winning percentages at 7-3. Akron is tied for fourth place with .583.