“The University of Akron’s baseball team already has their non-conference schedule underway and is looking forward to the rest of the season. Our biggest goal is to improve our early pre-conference schedule and mid-week non-conference schedule record, head coach Pat Bangston said.”
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The University of Akron’s baseball team already has their non-conference schedule underway and is looking forward to the rest of the season.

Our biggest goal is to improve our early pre-conference schedule and mid-week non-conference schedule record, head coach Pat Bangston said. The biggest thing our team is shooting for is a much better conference schedule. It’s our biggest goal.

Last season, the Zips posted an eight game improvement in the win column from the previous season and finished 23-24 overall with a mark of 8-16 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Zips will return 20 letter winners, including a handful of starting pitchers and seven position players.

Team captains Brett Savage, Frank Turocy and Doug McNulty are among those returning letter winners.

The captains do an excellent job of leading the group, Bangston said. They all show leadership qualities on and off the field. Because of their work ethic on the field, they were voted team captains.

Savage, a junior from Massillon, finished second on the team last season with a .344 batting average. As the team’s leadoff hitter, Savage hit .359 with 15 runs scored and an on-base percentage of .449.

McNulty was named second-team All-Mid-American Conference after finishing sixth in the league with a team high .356 batting average and recording career highs in five offensive categories.

Turocy was named MAC pitcher of the week twice last season and finished the year with four wins and a 5.47 ERA.

In the 2008 MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll, the Zips were picked to finish fourth in the MAC East behind Ohio, Miami and Kent State.

I don’t know how we’ll stack up against the competition in the MAC yet, Bangston said. We’re obviously very confident and we have to make strides.

One of the strides the team will look to make is in the bullpen.

Everything we’re doing now is to develop strength in the bullpen and get a lot of questions answered come conference schedule, Bangston said.

The Zips have already split a series with West Virginia and took one of three from UNC-Asheville. Their record currently stands at 3-4.

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