GAME NOTES
DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton Flyers host the Saint Joseph’s Hawks this weekend in the final three home games of the season. The Flyers will also hold Senior Day on Saturday at Time Warner Cable Stadium, with Sunday as a “rain date”.
With the last gasps of the regular season rapidly approaching, the Flyers (20-29, 9-12) hope to be included in the six teams in Camden, N.J in two weeks. Dayton will need help, trailing three games behind a berth in the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship.
Aaron Dunsmore is blazing-hot after a remarkable effort on Tuesday. The Spruce Grove, Alberta senior had two doubles and had a home run, accounting for four of the Flyers’ five runs against the Colonels. Zach Jacob had a solo home run in the game.
Saint Joseph’s (18-23, 13-8 A-10) is sitting comfortably in a tie for second place with Rhode Island. Dewey Oriente leads the Hawks with a .361 average. He also leads with 35 RBI. Despite their A-10 success, the Hawks have hit just .289 compared to their opponents’ .325 average.
Southpaw Cameron Hobson (3-4, 6.38 ERA) will get the nod on Friday at 3:00 p.m. against right-handed pitcher Kyle Mullen (1-3, 6.69 ERA). Hobson has 58 strikeouts this season, and has picked up steam in A-10 play. He averages 1.09 strikeouts an inning and is ranked fifth in the conference averaging between nine and ten strikeouts a game in conference games. Opponents are hitting .316 off of Mullen, while he averages less than one strikeout per inning.
Right-handed pitcher Burny Mitchem (4-7, 6.43 ERA), UD’s strikeout ace, will battle left-handed pitcher Randy Mower (3-4, 5.75 ERA) in the second game of the series on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mitchem has 70 strikeouts this season. Mower is tied for the lead with 37 strikeouts, but opponents have had the most success hitting off of him (.340) out of this weekend’s three starters.
The Flyers have not listed a starter for Sunday, but likely candidates include right-handed pitcher Mike Hauschild (2-6, 5.66 ERA), who has made nine starts this season and Bryce Lahrman (2-5, 5.49 ERA). Lahrman started last weekend’s game against the UMass Minutemen.
Sunday’s starter will be charged with taking on Chad Simendinger (1-2, 4.98 ERA). He carries the lowest ERA of all of SJU’s pitchers. Simendinger also has 37 strikeouts this season, but has issued the most walks (23) and has thrown the most wild pitches (10). Sunday’s game is slated for a Noon start.
Mike Ivcic will broadcast the series this weekend from Time Warner Cable Stadium. Pregame comments from Coach Vittorio, along with UD On Deck can be heard one half-hour before the start of the games. The games will be simulcast on the Dayton Flyer Sports Network on 1660 AM and at www.DaytonFlyers.com.
