The Akron Zips softball team (16-11) finished their first home stand of the season by sweeping the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash (7-25) in a Tuesday doubleheader at Lee Jackson Field. The Zips shut out the Red Flash 5-0 in the opening game and held on for a 7-6 victory in the second game.
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The Akron Zips softball team (16-11) finished their first home stand of the season by sweeping the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash (7-25) in a Tuesday doubleheader at Lee Jackson Field. The Zips shut out the Red Flash 5-0 in the opening game and held on for a 7-6 victory in the second game.
Akron was again carried by the arm of pitcher Alex Riedeman (8-3) who hurled her third-consecutive complete game shutout in as many starts. Riedeman struck out six and was aided by a defense that turned two twin killers to end threats in the third and fifth.
While the defense shut down St. Francis, the Zips’ bats were anything but silent. Olivia Hegedus’s first inning sacrifice fly scored leadoff hitter Alex Feltes to remove the goose egg from the scoreboard.
Akron then pelted the Red Flash for four runs in the second inning. A small ball play started the scoring when Alex Helfrich, who went 2-for-3 for the game, brought home Cassie Gleisner on a ground out to first. The Akron scoring run ended in the second inning when Katie Gross belted her third home run of the year, scoring Sarah Stromack and Feltes.
We’ll take a home run any time we can get it. We do have some power this year, which is a little different for some of my teams, as we do play a lot of small ball and do steal a lot of bases, Coach Julie Jones said of her team that leads the NCAA in stolen bases.
The Zips’ offense jumped out first in the second game, as Hegedus led off the second inning by blasting her team-leading eighth home run to left-center field. Sarah Earley followed with an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a Gleisner single and then scored on a wild pitch.
It sets a tone, Jones said of the Zips’ ability to score first in all four home victories this season. You don’t have to worry about fighting back, and I think that sometimes is a hard thing; but really, in all reality, I never feel like this team is ever out of it.
Akron surrendered a home run to St. Francis in the top of the third, but Alissa Birkhimer returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning with a blast to right to increase the Zips’ lead 3-1.
A scoreless fourth inning gave way to a slugfest in the fifth. The Red Flash connected for two homers in the top of the inning to take their first lead of the day at 5-3. However, Birkhimer again countered their attack by going yard for the seventh time this season. Her three-run jack scored Gross and Helfrich, and put Akron back in front 6-5. Birkhimer finished the day going 3-for-3 with four RBIs.
St. Francis knotted the game back up at 6-6, but Akron again broke the tie in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Earley walked to lead off the inning and Glesiner bunted her to second. Stromack then singled to center to drive in the go-ahead run.
Riedman pitched the final 2.2 innings, which included a 1-2-3 seventh, to capture her second win of the day.
Akron will travel to Niagara for a doubleheader on Thursday before returning to MAC play on the road against Ohio this weekend.
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