This year, for the first time since 1998, the University of Akron won the Mid-American Conference regular-season softball title.
That gives the Zips the No. 1 seed for the MAC Softball Championship tournament, which is this week at Firestone Stadium.
Here are five things to know about Akron softball and the Mid-American Conference Softball Championship:
When and where are the Zips playing in the MAC Softball Championship?
The Mid-American Conference Softball Championship are May 6-9 at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
The tournament will be double elimination and could have as many as 11 games.
As the top seed, Akron has a bye in the first round and will open the tournament at noon May 7 against the winner of the Ohio-Central Michigan game.
What are the seeds for the MAC Softball Championship?
The top six teams in the MAC advanced to the tournament.
Akron (31-23, 21-6 MAC) earned the No. 1 seed and a bye. No. 2 seed Northern Illinois (25-16, 18-7 MAC) also received a bye.
No. 3 seed Miami (38-16, 19-8), No. 4 seed Ohio (35-18, 17-10), No. 5 Central Michigan (24-22, 15-11) and No. 6 seed Western Michigan (26-24, 15-12) round out the field.
Who are the Akron Zips’ top softball players?
Akron is led by outfielder Meagan Lee, who is batting .414 and has 75 hits this season. She leads the Zips with 47 runs and eight stolen bases.
Akron’s top power hitter is Sophia Wygast, who has 11 home runs, 60 RBIs and a .357 batting average.
Madie Jamrog is the Zips’ top pitcher this season with a 15-6 record, a 3.58 ERA and 87 strikeouts.
Who have the Zips beaten this season?
Along with winning the MAC regular-season title, Akron has pulled out a couple of big nonconference wins this season.
In February, the Zips scored two wins over power conference foes, beating UConn 2-0 Feb. 14 and Illinois 9-2 Feb. 21 in neutral-site games.
However, the Zips’ biggest win of the year came April 21, when they beat Ohio State 9-5 in Columbus.
What’s at stake for the winner of the MAC Softball Championship?
The tournament winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
The selection show for the NCAA tournament is 7 p.m. May 10 on ESPN2.
Michael Leonard can be reached at mleonard@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 5 things to know about Akron Zips softball and MAC tournament
Reporting by Michael Leonard, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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