Tournament Central

DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton softball team makes the short trip to Oxford, Ohio for the Miami Invitational this weekend. UD will play Eastern Michigan, Miami, Ball State and Niagara.

Dayton (7-9) is on a five-game winning streak after sweeping the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Tuesday. Sophomore Alysha Isaacson is hitting .483. Junior Kathleen Maloof has five doubles and five home runs this year and is hitting .396.

Freshman Kayla English earned two saves against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. English has a 4.20 ERA and leads UD with 25 strikeouts. Sophomore Alysha Isaacson has pitched 35.2 innings and has 15 strikeouts.

Eastern Michigan (6-13) is led by Katy Blaharski is hitting .352. McKenna Russ paces the Eagles with 10 RBI and four doubles. Jenna Ignowski is 5-1 and has a 2.53 ERA to lead EMU. Ignowski also leads in strikeouts with 35.  Lindsay Rich has a 3.41 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

Kristy Arbour leads Miami (11-9). She is hitting .364 with a double and two RBI.  Allie Larrabee and Daniela Torres each have nine RBI. Pitcher Jessica Simpson is 6-8 and has a 1.03 ERA. Simpson also has 102 strikeouts. Paige Myers has a 1.13 ERA and a 5-1 record, she has struck out 37.

UD will face the Ball State Cardinals (13-6) after dropping its first meeting to BSU 6-3 at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Amanda Montalto has eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and is hitting .436 to lead the Cardinals. Taylor Rager is hitting .400 and has 19 RBI. Audrey Workman carries a 1.57 ERA and has struck out 54 in 71.1 innings pitched. Kim Mazzapica has a 2.44 ERA and has 23 strikeouts.

Niagara (4-9) is led by Jen Hare who is hitting .297. Becky Zill has a team-leading 11 RBI and three home runs this season. Julie DeMatteo has a 3.80 ERA and a 1-2 record. Matteo has 26 strikeouts. Kim Bryson has a 5.30 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched.

Dayton opens the tournament with a game against EMU at 1 p.m. on Friday. UD will close Friday with a 5 p.m. matchup against Miami. Dayton returns to action on Saturday with games against Ball State (5 p.m.) and Niagara (7 p.m.) before its final game on Sunday at 4 p.m. against the RedHawks. Dayton’s games against Miami will be streamed for a fee by Miami University.