Story Links ATHENS, Ohio - As the Miami University softball team hits the heart of the Mid-American Conference season, it hits the road for a pair of key series. On Friday, the RedHawks will head to Athens for the annual “Battle of the Bricks” as they face Ohio in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

Miami then travels to Akron for single games on Saturday at 2 p.m. And Sunday at 1 p.m. DIVISION LEAD: At 6-2 Miami is currently tied with Kent State for the MAC East Division lead. The RedHawks are looking to repeat as division champs after taking the crown in 2012. That was only the second MAC East title in school history and the first since winning the initial one in 1983. MIAMI SOFTBALL PLAYERS RANK NATIONALLY: The NCAA released its latest national softball statistical rankings on Monday (and therefore don’t include the RedHawks’ doubleheader against Morehead State from this past Tuesday). Several Miami players rank among the top 100 players in the country in specific statistical categories.

Junior catcher ranks 20th in the nation with an average of 0.78 walks per game. She is also 85th in batting average (.400), 17th in on-base percentage (.542) and 89th in slugging percentage (.711). Junior second baseman is the 17th-toughest player in the country to strike out, whiffing once every 34.0 at bats, while freshman outfielder Taylor Shuey ranks 40th in the nation with three triples this season. FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING: The RedHawks’ three freshmen continue to make an impact in the lineup. Hailey Reed ranks second on the team with a.368 batting average, including two home runs and 11 RBI.

Taylor Shuey ranks third on the ‘Hawks with a.330 batting average with one home run and 15 RBI. She has also shown her prowess with the glove, making several fine defensive plays in right field this season. Jenna Modic ranks fourth on Miami with a.299 batting average.

She has settled in as the RedHawks’ number two pitcher, sporting a 1-1 record with a 5.40 ERA in MAC play. OPPONENT PREVIEWS ABOUT OHIO: The Bobcats enter the series 19-16 overall and 4-4 in the MAC. They have split every two-game series with each conference opponent they have faced so far. On Tuesday, they were swept in a doubleheader by Ohio State. Ohio is a powerful offensive team that has 52 home runs in 35 games this season. It is led by senior catcher Lauren Gellerman. She is batting.422 with 17 home runs and 44 RBI.

The Bobcats’ top pitcher is freshman Savannah Jo Dorsey. She is 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 24 appearances (14 starts). SERIES WITH OHIO: Ohio holds a 51-42-1 all-time record against Miami. The RedHawks swept their two-game series with the Bobcats last season in Oxford. On April 7, held Ohio to four hits in a 1-0 win. Miami scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to earn the victory. There were more dramatics the next day when the ‘Hawks defeated the Bobcats, 8-7, in 11 innings.

Hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th to end that marathon game. ABOUT AKRON: The Zips are 16-17 overall and 3-5 in the MAC. They swept a non-conference series from Cleveland State in their last action on Tuesday. Akron is led offensively by Alissa Birkhimer. She is batting.340 with two home runs and 14 RBI. Its top pitcher is freshman Erin Seiler.

She is 10-11 with a 2.47 ERA in 28 appearances (23 starts). SERIES WITH AKRON: Akron leads the all-time series with Miami, 40-29.

The RedHawks swept a doubleheader last season from the Zips on April 6 in Oxford, taking the first game, 4-0, behind a four-hitter and the nightcap, 5-0, after a four-hitter. UP NEXT FOR MIAMI: Miami will travel to Northern Kentucky for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday that begins at 2 p.m. The RedHawks then will head to Muncie, Ind.

Zips Head To Muncie Ind. For Mac 2017

Next weekend for single games against Ball State on Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m. And Sunday, April 21 at 1 p.m.

Akron (8-11, 2-3) at Ball State (7-11, 2-3) Sunday, Jan. ET Muncie, Ind. Worthen Arena (11,500) Game Notes (PDF) Television: None Radio: Fox Sports 1350 WARF-AM with Bill Morgan (play-by-play). Live Stats: Available at www.BallStateSports. Live stats are free of charge.

Live Streaming: Available free of charge at www.MAC-Sports.com. Akron Coach (Slippery Rock, 1984): Is in her sixth season at Akron, posting a 68-103 (.398) mark. Kest is 294-256 (.535) in 19-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach. She was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading UA to a school-record 18 wins. Ball State Coach Kelly Packard (Anderson, 1990): In her fourth season as the head coach at Ball State, Packard has earned a record of 56-58 (.491).

She led the Cardinals to the MAC Tournament title in her first season (2008-09). The Series: Akron is 10-17 all-time against the Cardinals. The Zips have won the last two meetings.

Zips Head to Muncie for Sunday Game with Ball State UA looks to get back to.500 in MAC play when they face the Ball St. Cardinals on Sunday.

Tip-off at Worthen Arena is 1 p.m. Storylines. UA dropped its third overtime game of the year on Thursday, losing at Ohio 72-71. Tenishia Benson's free throw with 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime provided the final margin. Led Akron with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

King also sent the game to extra time when she made a runner in the lane with seven seconds remaining in regulation. The Zips are halfway through a stretch that sees them play six of eight games on the road. Akron is 2-2 so far during the run. Junior ranks 11th in the coun- try in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and 17th nationally in 3-point percentage (.422).

As a team Akron is 22nd in field goal pct. (.439), 21st in scoring offense (74.8) and 25th in 3-pointers made per game (6.9) nationally. Through five conference games, Akron has five players (King, Mushington, Stubbs, Ruper, Luburgh) averaging double-figure points. (9.6 ppg) is just off the 10-plus point mark in conference play. is averaging a MAC-best 5.8 assists per game in conference play. Cassell also owns the MAC's best assist/turnover ratio in conference play (2.6).

Is 21st in the nation in overall assist/turnover ratio (2.1). The Zips lead the MAC in scoring offense, field goal percentage, 3-pointers made per game and assists, while ranking second in 3-point percentage and assist/turnover ratio. Is third in the league in field goal percentage (.512). Senior Natasha Wil- liams leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.1) and is third in assists (4.3).

Is first in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and second in 3-point percentage (.422). Head Coach needs just six wins to join the 300-club. She has amassed 294 wins over 19-plus seasons as a head coach. Kest needs just 12 wins to become Akron's all-time wins leader.

A Look at Ball State Ball State (7-10, 2-3) is coming off a 63-48 loss at Toledo on Thursday. The Cardinals two MAC wins have come against Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois. BSU is 6-4 at Worthen Arena this season. Jazmin Hitchens (11.3 ppg) is the only Cardinal scoring in double figures.

Ball State is 10th in the MAC in scoring offense (58.2) and seventh in scoring defense (64.7). Last Time Out Against Ball State made a school-record eight 3-pointers in leading Akron to a 78-65 win over Ball State on Feb. Ruper totaled 26 points and finished the game 8-of-10 from distance. UA led by double digits for most of the game, as and added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

UA Falls at Ohio in Overtime, 72-71 Tenishia Benson made a free throw with 0.7 seconds left in overtime to give Ohio a 72-71 over Akron on Thursday. Led UA with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Added 14 and put in 12 to also pace the Zips. King - who scored 13 of her 15 points in overtime - was the hero at the end of regulation, dropping in a runner with seven seconds remaining to knot the score at 62-62. Balanced MAC Attack UA has five players - (14.6), (12.3), (11.2) (10.6), and (10.0) - averaging double-digit points in conference play. (9.6) is just below the 10.0 points per game mark.

King of the Glass Sophomore pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the loss at Ohio Thursday. Her previous career-high was 10 rebounds. It was the best individual rebounding performance since tallied 18 boards against Eastern Michigan (Jan.

22, 2011) last season. Cassell's Helping Hand Sophomore has been handing out assists at a clip of 5.8 per game during conference play. That mark is tops in the MAC. She also been taking care of the ball, compiling an assist/turnover ratio of 2.6 through five conference games.

Cassell handed out a season-high eight assists against both Miami (Jan. 4) and Kent State (Jan. 14) Luburgh Heats Up at Buffalo got hot quick in the Jan. 7 win at Buffalo, scoring 13 of her 15 points in the games final 5:46.

Luburgh shot 6-of-7 in the stretch and scored 13 of Akron's final 19 points. Stepping Up Since First-Team All-MAC player went down with a season-ending injury against Duquesne, several Zips have stepped up their roles on the court. Leading the way is sophomore who is averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the nine games since the Tecca injury. (5.8 rpg in the last nine games) and (5.3 rpg in the last nine games) have also helped pick up the slack on the boards. Zips Once Again Light it up from Distance Akron had another excellent shooting night from behind the arc against Buffalo, making 11-of-25 (.440) 3-pointers.

Zips Head To Muncie Ind. For Mac

It was the 4th-best 3-point effort in program history, but was not UA's best effort of the season. Akron made 12 treys in the loss to Robert Morris on Dec. The program record for threes in a game is 13, set in 2005 at Central Michigan. Led the way against Buffalo, making 6-of-11 from deep. Ruper owns the single-game record with eight 3-pointers (vs. Ball State, Feb. 12, 2011) and drained seven in the Robert Morris game.

3-Point Prowess The Zips have been lighting it up from downtown this season, making 35.6-percent of their 3-pointers. UA is the 30th best 3-point shooting team in the country.

Tops the team, making 42.2-percent (57-of-135) of her attempts from distance. Ruper is 17th in the country in 3-point percentage and 11th in 3-pointers made per game (3.0). Program Reaches 1,000th Game The Jan. 4 loss to Miami was contest number 1,000 for the Akron women's basketball program. The Zips played their first ever game - a 59-24 win over Kent-Tuscarawas - on Jan.

Zips Head To Muncie Ind. For Macy's

The game was the 800th all-time Division I game. Road Warriors Beginning with the Jan. 7 game at BGSU, UA is in a stretch that sees it play 6-of-8 games on the road. This could be a good thing, as Akron fared better on the road than at home last season in MAC play. UA posted a 2-6 league record at the JAR and a 4-4 mark on the road in 2010-11.

The 4-4 road record matched the best ever for Akron in the MAC since 1999-2000. In non-conference play this year, Akron was 3-3 away from home and 3-5 at the JAR. Double-Double, Double-Double (11p, 10r) and (16p, 11r) both recorded double-doubles in the Chicago State win.

It was the first time two Akron players tallied double-doubles in the same game since Young and did the feat in a 56-53 loss to Kent State last season on March 3, 2011. Stubbs Having Great Senior Year Senior is making the most of her senior season. Stubbs is scoring 8.5 points per contest this season, after averaging just 1.7 points per game prior to this year. She scored a career-high 18 points and added seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Jan. 4 loss to Miami.

Stubbs also hit a trey at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Firing on All Cylinders The Zips have shot better than 40.0 percent from the field in all but five games and better than 40.0 percent from 3-point range in 11 games this season.

The Zips rank 22nd in the country in field goal percentage (.439) and 30th in 3-point percentage (.356). The Zips rank 21st nationally in scoring offense at 74.8 points per game. Record Watch Junior guard netted 75 3-pointers last season, the second most in a season in program history, and currently stands second all-time with 152 career 3's. The program record is 183 by Michelle Chavanne. Ruper is currently third in career 3-point percentage (.375) and is on pace to break the mark for treys in a season (91, Keyla Snowden, 2007-08).

The Zips are currently on pace to break several team marks. The record for scoring average in a season is 72.8 (1982-83), while UA is also shooting above or near the record for field goal percentage (.443, 1997-98) and free throw percentage (.722, 2007-08). Career Game 100 for Mushington Senior played in her 100th career game on Dec. 18 against Youngstown St. Mushington scored 13 points and added four assists and five rebounds in the loss. Fellow senior is fast approaching the 100-game mark, having played in 98 contests thus far in her career. Quest for 300 Head Coach owns a career record of 294-256 (.535) through 19-plus seasons, needing just eight more wins to total 300 for her career.

In 2009-10, she guided the Zips to a school-record 18 wins and was named the MAC Coach of the Year. Up Next Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena on Wednesday, when the Northern Illinois Huskies make the trip to Northeast Ohio. Game-time is 7 p.m.