March 26, 2009
After playing eight consecutive home games, the University of Dayton softball team will take to the road as it squares off against the Butler Bulldogs in a non-conference doubleheader Thursday, March 26 at the Butler Softball Field in Indianapolis, Ind. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. ET. Both teams will use the games as tune-ups before entering conference play this weekend.
The Bulldogs (6-16) are on a six-game losing skid, while the Flyers (3-20) have dropped three straight games. Both squads are in need of a boost before getting into the meat of their respective conference schedules. Dayton travels to Saint Louis for an Atlantic 10 twinbill on Saturday, March 28, while Butler heads to Detroit for a three-game Horizon League series against the Titans starting Saturday.
Scouting the Bulldogs: As of March 22, sophomore Erin Jackson led Butler with a .290 batting average. Freshman Erin Falkenberry has notched a team-high 12 RBI, while senior Alex Boros and freshman Lauren McNulty have 10 to their credit. As a team the Bulldogs are hitting .245 and have struck out 129 times to their opponents' 66. The pitching corps owns a 5.37 ERA. Freshman Breanna Fisher has struck out a team-high 33.
Taking a Look at Dayton: Junior Molly Meyer leads the A-10 in nearly every offensive category. She is at the top of pile for hits (33), runs scored (25) and batting average (.452). The next closest player, Brooke Darreff of Saint Joseph's, has a .394 batting average. In addition to also leading the Flyers in those categories she leads UD in slugging percentage (.644), on base percentage (.506), doubles (6), homeruns (2), total bases (47), stolen bases (6) and stolen base percentage (1.000). Junior Anne Maci leads the Flyers with 14 RBI, while sophomore Emily Stegeman has accumulated 11. Freshman Brandy Brown has cracked five doubles, including two in conference play, tying her for first in the A-10 for doubles in conference games. Junior Eva Rappe leads the trio of UD pitchers with a team-high 44 strikeouts and 74.2 innings pitched.
Series Information: Butler leads the series 33-18. The last time Dayton faced off against the Bulldogs, Butler picked up the sweep with 3-2 and 4-0 victories at UD Softball Stadium on April 18, 2007.
