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Schedule
Friday, Feb. 18
Dayton vs. Bradley – 1 p.m. ET
Projected Starters: LHP Cameron Hobson vs. LHP Joe Bircher
Dayton at Lipscomb – 4 p.m. ET
Projected Starters: RHP Michael Hauschild vs. LHP Richie Goodenow
Saturday, Feb. 19
Dayton at Lipscomb – 3 p.m. ET
Projected Starters: RHP Bryce Lahrman vs. RHP Connor Sinclair
Sunday, Feb. 20
Dayton vs. Bradley – 12 p.m. ET
Projected Starters: TBD vs. RHP John Nasshan
Dayton at a Glance (2010: 23-32, 12-15 A-10)
The Flyers were picked to finished third in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll ... Last season Dayton finished with a 23-32 record and a 12-15 mark in the Atlantic 10 ... All three of UD’s weekend starting pitchers from last season return ... Junior LHP Cameron Hobson is UD’s ace as the season begins – the former freshman All-American was a 37th round draft pick by the Yankees in 2010 ... 2010 First Team All-Conference DH Brian Blasik and A-10 All-Freshman Team OF Joe Gayda return for the Flyers ... 10 newcomers were added to the roster this season ... Dayton won its first-ever conference title in 2009 with a program-record 38 wins and a 21-6 conference record to capture the A-10 regular season title.
Bradley at a Glance (2010: 20-32, 8-13 MVC)
Bradley was picked to finish last (8th) in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches poll ... The Braves’ opening day starter is Joe Bircher, who held a 4-5 record last season with a 5.67 ERA and a team-leading 68 strikeouts ... 2010 Second Team All-MVC selection and outfielder Brian Martin leads the BU offense attack as last season’s team leader in batting average (.364), RBI (39) and hits (75) ... Bradley is coached by Elvis Dominguez in his third year with the program ... While preparing for the 2011 season, the Braves lost 21-year-old teammate Phil Kaiser on Oct. 18, 2010 ... Kaiser died of an undiagnosed heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart walls to thicken ...
Lipscomb at a Glance (2010: 19-36, 9-17 A-Sun)
Lipscomb was picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason coaches poll ... The Bisons will start Vanderbilt transfer Richie Goodenow against the Flyers for their season opener ... Goodenow was named the MVP of the NCAA Louisville Regional and had a team-high 31 appearances in relief for Vanderbilt last season (3-1, 2.23 ERA) ... Outfielder Lee Wilson led the Bisons in batting average (.339) as a freshman last season ... Lipscomb graduated Ryan Wilkins and Cory Hale, whom combined for a total of 22 homeruns, and Josh Smith who tallied 124 strikeouts from 2010 ... Lipscomb is led by Head Coach Jeff Forehand, holding a 104-128 record in four seasons with the program.
| New Rules: What’s Different in 2011? |
The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee implemented 13 new rules and amended a handful of existing rules related to game play that will take effect this season.
The committee voted to mandate the use of a timing device with penalties for non-compliance. Pitchers will have 20 seconds to start their delivery between pitches when no runners are on base. There will be a 90-second clock between half innings in non-televised games and a 108-second clock between half innings of a televised game. Umpires will enforce the timing rules, leaving conferences with the option of displaying a visible clock. The penalty will be a ball or a strike, depending on which team committed the rule infraction. Last season the timing rules were used as a trial run.
The Ball-Bat Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) will take effect for the first time in 2011, replacing the Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) test. The new BBCOR formula is intended to provide a better measure of the bat’s performance, allowing the rules committee and bat testing laboratories to better predict field performance based on lab tests. The goal is that non-wood bats that meet this new standard will perform similarly to wood bats. The universal logo for BBCOR Certified bats must be displayed on each bat used during the game.
The NCAA is also limiting the size of the bat barrel to a 2.5 inch diameter and the difference in weight (ounces) and length (inches) can be no more than plus-three. Among other rule changes the committee voted on, batters will not be permitted to have both feet outside the batter’s box during a plate appearance. The penalty for a violation is a strike.
For a complete list of rule changes visit NCAA.com. |
Season Preview
If returning pitching is instrumental in winning championships, the 2011 Flyers will be poised to contend for its second Atlantic 10 Conference title in three seasons. The Flyers return all three weekend starters from last season including junior lefty Cameron Hobson junior Burny Mitchem and junior Mike Hauschild. Last season’s team Pitcher of the Year, Trent Haughn, also returns as a reliever.
Hobson is projected to be Dayton’s number-one starter after choosing to remain with the Flyers as a 37th-round draft pick by the Yankees and a summer in the Cape Cod League after last season. In two years with UD, the former A-10 Rookie of the Year has 151 career strikeouts – poised to crack Dayton’s top-five in career strikeouts in his junior campaign.
“Cameron is a great competitor and a physical specimen,” Vittorio said. “What Cameron did as a freshman was unbelievable. Last year his numbers weren’t as good, but if you look at the second half of the last season, he started to settle in and be more effective. This season Cameron is locked in and is ready to handle those expectations. He is a year older and more mature mentally than a year ago.”
Mitchem is coming off a solid 2010 in which he set the Dayton single-season record of 86 strikeouts through a team-leading 83 innings pitched. Mitchem enters the season with 160 career strikeouts and, if he maintains his career average of four Ks per appearance, may hold the career strikeout record at Dayton by the end of the season. With the current depth of the pitching staff, Mitchem is slated to take on the full-time closer responsibilities and fill in as a starter as-needed.
“We think that Burney has the right tools to translate very well from a starting role to a closer and be a dominant force in late-inning situations,” Vittorio said. “Burney is in the similar role as Craig Stammen played during his sophomore season when he nearly broke the single-season saves record here at Dayton.”
Stammen was drafted in 2005 and has pitched in 54 games in the last two seasons for the Washington Nationals.
As UD’s second starter, Hauschild brings a wide range of pitches with precise control to build on two years of solid starting pitching for the Flyers. Hauschild had a 53-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2010 after 10 starts and 10 relief appearances. The Beavercreek native spent the summer turning heads at the New England Collegiate Baseball League to earn the league’s Pitcher of the Year award.
“We have been known as a pitching and defensive program – having two guys in the big leagues right now,” Head Coach
Tony Vittorio said. “We got away from pitching last season and we are locked in big-time on the mound right now and making plays in the field.”
On the offensive side, the Flyers return first team all-conference honoree Brian Blasik as a designated hitter and utility man. Blasik hit for a team-leading .346 average with 37 RBI and eight homeruns last season.
Dayton’s 10 newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact for the Flyers this season. Three junior college transfers are slated to enter UD’s starting lineup in the spring, including C.J. Gillman at third base, Bobby Glover in centerfield and Zach Stewart in left field. Two freshmen, Mel Skochdopole and Robby Sunderman, are vying to start shortstop, a role left open by 37th-round draft pick Cole Tyrell.
Last season the Flyers had high expectations after the program’s first regular season conference championship in 2009, but narrowly missed the postseason conference tournament with a 23-32 record overall and 12-15 mark in league play.
“You will see us go back to playing Dayton-style baseball this season,” Head Coach
Tony Vittorio said. “We are going to play for ‘we’ instead of ‘me’ and ‘us’ instead of ‘I’. Our motto this year has been ‘strength in unity’ and we have stuck to that. From the day they walked on campus in August, our team has had the mindset of doing this together.”
