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Junior Cameron Hobson needs nine strikeouts to become Dayton's all-time strikeout leader. |
The Flyers will continue Atlantic 10 Conference play this weekend in Amherst, Mass., with a three-game series against UMass ... LHP Cameron Hobson needs nine strikeouts to become Dayton’s career strikeout record holder ... This season Hobson leads the Atlantic 10 with 59 strikeouts and has surrendered just one walk in his last 21 2/3 innings pitched ... Shortstop Mel Skochdopole was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week on Monday ... Infielder C.J. Gillman is riding a five-game hitting streak into the weekend and leads the team hits (42), doubles (11), and stolen bases (11) ... Dayton’s Saturday starter on the mound, RHP Burny Mitchem, has a team-best 1.67 ERA ... Junior Brian Blasik ended a career-best 18-game hitting streak last week and leads the team with a .361 batting average.
Massachusetts at a Glance
Friday’s game will be the Minutemen’s 2011 home opener at Earl Lorden Field ... Eight of UMass’ games have been played in Winter Haven, Fla. – from March 6-20 ... Opened the conference season during the weekend of March 25 with a 2-1 series victory at George Washington (8-4, 6-3, 5-10) ... Coming off a 7-1 loss at Connecticut on Wednesday ... Infielder Matt Gedman leads the A-10 with a .455 batting average ... RHP Glen Misho is slated to start on Friday, holding a 4.50 ERA and a 3-1 record through five starts ... Saturday starter Dennis Torres has a team-leading 2.91 ERA in four starts ... Head Coach Mike Stone is in his 25th season at UMass and needs 12 victories for his 600th win at the school ... Last season UMass tied for 8th place in the conference standings with a 13-14 league record.
Last Season vs. UMass
UMass won two games in a three-game series against UD at Time Warner Cable Stadium last season ... A combined total of 63 runs were scored between both teams in the first two games of the series, with UMass taking the first, 18-12, and Dayton winning the second, 17-16 ... The Minutemen won the series finale, 10-2 ... It was the only conference series in 2010 in which Dayton gave up 10 or more runs in all three games.
National Weather Service Forecast – Amherst, Mass.
Friday – Sunny with a high near 56 degrees ... Saturday – Sunny with a high near 62 degrees, south winds between 10 and 13 mph ... Sunday – Partly sunny, with a high near 62. (Forecast as of Thursday, April 7)
Strikeout Watch: Hobson & Mitchem
Junior LHP Cameron Hobson has 59 strikeouts this season and enters the weekend with 210 career strikeouts, needing nine to hold Dayton’s career strikeout record ... As UD’s ace, Hobson holds a 2.44 ERA through seven starts and eight appearances ... Junior Burny Mitchem stands behind Hobson with 193 career strikeouts ... In 2009, Hobson had 83 strikeouts as a freshman to set the single-season UD record, but only for a year ... Last season, Mitchem broke Hobson’s single-season strikeout record with 86 Ks as a starter ... Entering the season, Mitchem had 160 and Hobson had 151 ... Luke Trubee (2003-06) currently holds Dayton’s career strikeout the record with 218.
Strikeouts Plenty; Walks Few
Dayton ranks third in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (2.07) ... The Flyers stand behind only Florida (1.76) and Texas A&M (1.84) in walks per nine innings ... The Flyer pitching staff has total of 223 strikeouts with just 61 walks through 29 games this season ... For every walk Dayton averages a conference-best 3.66 strikeouts (or strikeout-to-walk ratio) ... Mike Hauschild leads the way with a 9.5 K-to-BB ratio – 38 strikeouts and just four walks in 47 1/3 innings pitched ... Trent Haughn (3.5 ratio) has not given up a walk in four straight appearances ... None of Dayton’s pitchers have allowed more than 10 walks this season.
Pro Tracker
LHP Jerry Blevins ‘04 – Oakland A’s
Made the A’s opening day active roster for the second consecutive season ... Has made three middle-relief appearances through Wednesday, April 6, with six strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA in 3 2/3 innings ... Drafted in the 17th round by the Cubs in 2004 ... Made major league debut on Sept. 16, 2007 with the A’s ... In his fifth season at the major league level, has a 3-5 record, 3.92 ERA and 113 strikeouts through 117 innings pitched.
RHP Craig Stammen ‘05 – Washington Nationals (AAA Syracuse Chiefs)
Will make season debut on Thursday with the Nationals’ triple-A club, Syracuse Chiefs ... Drafted in the 12th round by the Nationals in 2005 ... Made major league debut on May 21, 2009 ... Has an 8-11 record, 5.12 ERA, 133 strikeouts in 54 appearances and 38 starts at the major league level ... Left Dayton as a junior with what was then UD’s career strikeout record (185) ... Versailles (OH) High School graduate.
SS Cole Tyrell ‘10 – San Diego Padres (extended spring training)
Listed on the Padres’ class A affiliate Eugene Emeralds opening day roster ... Will make season debut on June 17 ... Until then is in extended spring training with the club in Arizona ... Had 18 hits, two homeruns and 10 RBI in 31 games in the minors last season ... Drafted in the 42nd round by the Padres in 2010 ... Finished in the top five in four career statistic categories at Dayton ... Had a .326 batting average with 10 homeruns and 49 RBI as a senior.
Flyers Road Results Improving
In the Flyers’ last road game on March 30, UD defeated Cincinnati for its sixth road victory of the season ... The win improved Dayton to 6-6 on the road and matched last season’s road win total ... In 2010 the Flyers finished 6-18 in road contests ... The Flyers broke a nine-game road losing streak after defeating Lipscomb on Feb. 18.
Last Four Games
Dayton is 2-2 in the last four games, all at home ... Jonathan Castine is hitting .556 in those games with seven RBI and a homerun ... Bobby Glover has gone 7-for-14 ... C.J. Gillman has eight hits with six RBI and four stolen bases ... The Flyers are hitting .350 as a team and holding opponents to a .295 batting average.
Unlucky Number Six
Dayton has been outscored by its opponents, 27-9, in the sixth inning this season ... On Feb. 19, Lipscomb scored nine runs in the sixth inning of an 18-2 Dayton loss ... Most-recently Temple (4/3) and Pepperdine (3/27) each posted four runs in the sixth inning – UD lost both games ... Nearly one-third of Dayton’s runs (28-of-157) have been scored in the fifth inning.
Blasik’s Hitting Streak Ends at 18 Games
Junior Brian Blasik had a hit in his first 11 games, which extended his hitting streak to a career-best 18 games dating back to last season ... Entering the weekend, it is the third-longest hitting streak in the conference ... Blasik returned from injury to make his first start of the season on March 15 against Wittenberg, tying his career-high four runs scored in five at-bats ... In 2010, Blasik was a First Team All-Conference selection and was voted the team MVP after recording a .346 batting average, 75 hits, 18 doubles, eight homeruns and 37 RBI ... He earned All-Conference honors in the designated hitter spot.
Atlantic 10 Performers of the Week
Mel Skochdopole
Rookie of the Week – April 4
Freshman shortstop Mel Skochdopole recorded his first career homerun and maintained a .400 batting average during the week to help guide Dayton to a 4-1 record ... The Indianapolis, Ind., native registered his first homer against the Owls on April 3, finishing the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored ... He also drove in three runs against Temple on Saturday on two hits ... After beginning the season 2-for-19 (.105), Skochdopole had a .319 average on April 4 as UD’s only starting true freshman.
Mike Hauschild
Pitcher of the Week – Feb. 21
Junior right-handed pitcher Mike Hauschild was named the season’s first Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week on after throwing a complete game against Lipscomb (2/18) ... It is the first A-10 Pitcher of the Week for Hauschild, becoming UD’s first A-10 Pitcher of the Week since 2009 and second in five years ... Junior Burny Mitchem was the last Flyer to be named Pitcher of the Week on March 2, 2009 ... It was the Beavercreek native’s third career complete-game, allowing just two earned runs and one walk with eight strikeouts in nine innings of work ... Hauschild was strongest late in the game, retiring his last nine batters in order – three consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the seventh, eighth, and ninth ... Four of his eight strikeouts came in the final three innings to close out Dayton’s 8-3 win.
Cameron Hobson
Pitcher of the Week – March 21
Hobson threw a dominating complete game shutout against Siena to earn A-10 Pitcher of the Week honors ... Hobson recorded 14 strikeouts, allowing no walks in the seven-inning game called short due to rain ... Hobson was also named one of “Louisville Slugger’s” National Players of the Week for his complete game shutout.
Triple Play
The Flyers turned a triple play in the third inning of an 8-3 win against Lipscomb on Feb. 18 ... The play was started by junior third baseman C.J. Gillman ... With runners on first and second, Gillman caught a line drive, tagged the runner on the base path between second and third, and threw out the runner from first base before tagging up.
Moeller Connection
Dayton has four players who graduated from the esteemed Archbishop Moeller High School baseball program (Kevin Thamann, Ian Hundley, Robby Sunderman, Willy Balbach) ... The Cincinnati-area high school has produced six first-round draft picks including major leaguers such as Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Larkin, and former player and manager Buddy Bell.
Flyers Picked Third in Preseason Poll
Dayton was picked to finish third in the 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference season, according to a vote of the A-10 coaches ... The Flyers return four players in the starting lineup and all three weekend starting pitchers, including 37th-Round MLB Draft pick left-handed pitcher Cameron Hobson and First Team All-Conference DH Brian Blasik ... With 10 first-place votes Charlotte was picked to repeat as Atlantic 10 regular season champions ... The 49ers are one of four conference teams UD will not play in the regular season ... Xavier received one first-place vote to garner a predicted second-place finish in the league.
