March 24, 2002
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - Behind a five-run first-inning outburst, Akron's softball team completed a three-game sweep of Miami, beating the RedHawks, 8-3, Sunday afternoon in Oxford, Ohio. Miami has lost four games in a row and five straight to Akron.
The Zips' Rianne Hess picked up right where she left off yesterday, roping a two-run home run that skimmed off the top of the centerfield wall in the top of the first to give Akron (11-5, 3-0) a 2-0 lead. She went deep twice in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Kerstin Sewell's two-run single later in the inning chased freshman starter Jackie Poggendorf (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain), and Kerry Omerza greeted senior Abbey Arnold (Dana Point, Calif./St. Margaret's) with an RBI base knock to center, making it 5-0 before the Zips even took the field.
In the third, Tracee McCoy's solo shot to left-center put the Zips up 6-0.
Junior Angie Gerber (La Salle, Mich./Mason) got the RedHawks (5-22, 0-3) on the board in the fourth with a two-run, opposite-field blast. Sophomore Jessica Zogaib (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) scored on the dinger, which was Gerber's team-leading fourth of the season.
The Zips got those runs back in the sixth on Kerry Omerza's first career home run, a two-run bomb to left-center, giving them an 8-2 cushion.
Gerber came through again in the bottom of the frame, ripping a double to the right-centerfield gap that scored senior Keri Brisnehan (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) with Miami's third run of the game.
The RedHawks loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a double play on a lineout followed by a groundout ended the game.
Gerber provided all of Miami's offense, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. She was 5-for-8 (.625) in the three-game series. Zogaib and senior Nicki Pelfrey (Fremont, Ohio/Fremont Ross) also had two hits apiece. Arnold pitched well in relief, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out three in five innings.
The RedHawks return to action March 27 at 2 p.m. with a home doubleheader against Toledo.
