The University of Akron baseball team played Western Michigan on Tuesday, April 21 and came out the victors over the bucking Broncos.

The Zips (19-19) defeated the Broncos (14-22) with a final score of 7-4. In the third inning, the Zips collected three runs from Brian Lees, Joey Havrilak, and Alex Dirienzo. The Broncos answered with one run in their next at bat. The Broncos added a few more runs as the game continued but the offense and defensive game of the Zips allowed them to capture another MAC win.

Josh Lapiana pitched a total of five innings and earned his first win of the season (1-3) from the mound. Lapiana gave up one run and had three strikeouts. He faced 23 batters and threw 60 strikes in five innings of pitching. The Zips averaged a .343 with Dirienzo batting a perfect 3-3. Lees also performed well with a .750 average and three runs. Dom Iero also had a great game, as he had three RBIs which led to the first three runs for the Zips.

Wednesday, April 22, the Zips were scheduled to play in a rematch game over the Griffins of Canisius College. However, the game has been postponed and the two teams will meet Tuesday, May 12 at Lee R. Jackson Field.  In the first game, played on April 1, the Zips lost a close one in Buffalo, New York as the Griffins won 3-2.

The Zips will hit the road and play a three game series against East Division rival Ohio University Bobcats (23-15, 7-8) on April 24, 25, and 26. Friday’s  first pitch will begin at 6 p.m. while the other games are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectfully.

The Bobcats are a game behind the Zips and will look to take back the second place ranking during this series. Akron, on the other hand, will look to stay on pace to overcome Kent State for top spot in the MAC East. Both Kent and Akron are tied for first place as of Wednesday, April 22.