Aug. 2, 2008

Former University of Dayton righthander Craig Stammen will be pitching just down the road from his college stomping grounds and his hometown Monday when he takes the mound for the Columbus Clippers against the Norfolk Tides. Game time at Cooper Stadium is 7:05.

The Versailles, Ohio native is 0-1 in two road starts since getting called up to Columbus on July 23. After off-season knee surgery, Stammen has worked his way up the Washington Nationals' minor league system. He began the year in A ball with Potomac Nationals, and was named to the Carolina League All-Star team. But before the all-star game was played, he was promoted to the AA Harrisburg Senators on June 21. In six starts for Harrisburg, he was 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA.

A native of Versailles, Ohio, Stammen was originally drafted by the Nationals in the 12th round of the 2005 MLB Draft. He pitched three years for the Flyers and ended his career as UD's "Strikeout King" with 185 punch outs, which now ranks second all-time. He ranks third in career saves (10), fourth in appearances (60), fifth in career innings pitched (231.2) and complete games (12).

He was his team's Opening Day starter for three straight seasons (UD in 2005, Savannah in 2006 and Potomac in 2007), but the knee surgery forced him to begin the 2008 season in the Potomac bullpen.

Dayton had a 31-25 overall record in 2008 to finish seventh in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. UD posted its fifth 30-win season in program history, which have all come since 2001 under the direction of head coach Tony Vittorio. The Flyer pitching staff was one of the best overall in the nation with a 4.24 ERA that led the A-10 and was 31st in Division I.