AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron head baseball coach Rick Rembielak and his staff announced the 2015 schedule on Thursday, which features 19 games to be played at Lee R. Jackson Field along with one game to be played at Canal Park.
The Zips are slated to host five Mid-American Conference weekend series as they welcome crosstown rival and 2014 MAC champion Kent State to Lee R. Jackson Field.
“We only lost three seniors along with redshirt junior Devon Ahart who signed a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers (16th round) from last season, so we have a good number of guys returning,” Rembielak said. “Our weekend pitching rotation is back, along with a couple other viable candidates waiting in the wings, if necessary. I feel our early schedule gives us a needed challenge for our guys in preparation toward our MAC championship goal.”
Akron opens the 2015 slate on Feb. 13 with a weekend series against Furman in Furman, S.C., in what will be the first-ever match-up between the two teams. The Paladins are one of four teams Akron will meet for the first time in program history throughout the first month of the season.
Following the series at Furman, the Zips travel to Charlotte, N.C., where they will play four games in three days against 2014 Conference USA runners-up UNC Charlotte, beginning on Feb. 20.
After taking on UNC Greensboro from Feb. 27-March 1, the Zips will return to S.C. to take part in the Coastal Carolina Invitational. They will first take on host team and 2014 Big South Conference runners-up Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C., on March 6 before traveling to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to meet Big Ten foes Michigan State (March 7) and Michigan (March 8) at TicketReturn.com Field.
Before beginning MAC play, Akron travels to take on Pittsburgh and makes a return trip to N.C. to take on Davidson, a team that is coming off its winningest season in program history.
“As we prepare for our 2015 MAC schedule, the main focus in our pre-season games is to establish roles for each player and to expose the team to good competition for the intensity of MAC play. We will have a veteran club this year so our experience will play a huge part in how we establish ourselves in pursuit of a MAC championship,” Rembielak added.
Akron opens conference action on the road against Eastern Michigan on March 20-22 before its home opener on Tuesday, March 24 against defending Horizon League champion Youngstown State, a team that saw action in the 2014 NCAA Regionals.
Several non-conference weekday doubleheaders pepper the month of April as the Zips will take on the likes of Ohio State, 2014 MAAC runners-up Canisius, Marshall, Dayton and Malone.
UA hosts MAC teams Toledo (March 27-29), Northern Illinois (April 10-12) and Miami (Ohio) (April 17-19) before it closes out the 2015 slate with its longest homestand of the season as it takes on Buffalo (May 8-10) and defending MAC champion Kent State (May 14-16). The first game of the Kent State series will be played at Canal Park in downtown Akron as part of the annual Diamond Classic for the Kids.
The MAC tournament will take place from May 20-23 at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.
2015 Akron Baseball Schedule (PDF)
