Game Notes
DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton baseball team will head into its second weekend of the season with a 2-1 record as the Flyers travel to Tennessee for the Mule Mix Classic. UD will open up the weekend at Middle Tennessee State at 3 p.m. (Central Time) on Friday before taking on Lipscomb Saturday at 2 p.m. (Central Time) The Flyers finish the weekend at Belmont on Sunday with a 1 p.m. (Central Time) scheduled start.
WEEKEND NOTES
• The Flyers are 2-1 overall this season after defeating Wofford and Ball State at the Spartanburg Classic last weekend in South Carolina. Dayton's lone loss came at the hands of USC-Upstate on Sunday.
• Middle Tennesse State heads into the weekend with a 1-3 record and a 0-1 home mark. The Blue Raiders are coming off a tough 9-5 loss to Tennessee Tech at home on Tuesday, despite totaling 11 hits, including a pair of triples. Their lone win this season came in an 11-10 slugfest with Kennesaw State in the season opener on Feb. 15. Head coach Jim McGuire has eight seniors on his squad in his second year with the program.
• Lipscomb will help host the Mule Mix Classic after getting off to a slow start in 2014. The Bisons are 0-4 on the season and coming off a loss on Wednesday at Vanderbilt (5-1). Head coach Jeff Forehand is entering his 8th season with LU and is hoping to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.
• Belmont enters the Mule Mix Classic with a 3-1 record overall, all of which have been played at home. Before meeting the Flyers, the Bruins will take on Miami (OH) on Friday and Indiana State on Saturday. BU is winner of its last two contests and under the direction of 17th-year head coach Dave Jarvis. The Bruins are a young team with just three seniors on the roster.
WHO TO WATCH - DAYTON
• The Dayton offense is batting .223 with a .340 slugging percentage and a .365 on-base percentage. The Flyers have already stolen five bases in six attempts this season as well.
• The Flyers are led by A-10 Co-Player of the Week
Aaron Huesman, who is batting for a .462 average, has two home runs, and 11 RBI. Four other Flyers have two RBI apiece while
Robby Sunderman has three steals.
• The UD pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.54 with 14 strikeouts and just four walks.
•
Noah Buettgen,
Joe Wahl, and Charle Dant will get the weekend nods as the starters.
•
Bryce Lahrman picked up his first career save in his last outing with two shutout innings of work.
WHO TO WATCH - THE OPPONENTS
• Middle Tennessee State is batting .268 as a team with a .341 slugging percentage and a .338 on-base percentage. The Blue Raiders have 14 RBI and six extra-base hits through four games, while stealing three bases.
 • Trent Miller leads the team with a .500 average and three RBI. Ryan Stephens has also contributed three RBI this season on three hits.
• The Blue Raiders will send out left-handed pitcher and senior Zac Curtis against the Flyers on Friday. Curtis had seven strikeouts, but gave up five runs in his first start of the season, an 11-10 win over Kennesaw State.
• As a team, Middle Tennessee State has an ERA of 8.47 with 35 strikeouts and 20 walks in four starts. Paul Mittura has the lone save for the Blue Raiders.
• Lipscomb returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad. The Bisons are batting .236 overall with a .362 slugging percentage and a .324 on-base percentage.
• Griffin Moore is tops on the team in average with a .385 mark, while Tyson Ashcraft has team-highs of three RBI and two HRs.
• The Lipscomb pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.11, but has yet to pick up a win or save this season. Potential starts against Dayton are Will Blalock (2.45 ERA, 1 start) or Jacob Knott (13.50 ERA, 1 start).
• Belmont offensively has gotten off to a slow start, batting .204 as a team. They have been able to draw walks and hit-by-pitches, boasting an on-base percentage of .341.
• The Bruins are led by Drew Ferguson, who is batting .545 with four RBI, and Tyler Walsh, who is batting .231 with four RBI as well.
• Belmont will throw junior right-handed pitcher Chase Cunningham against Dayton on Sunday. Cunningham is in his first season at Belmont after playing at Walters State CC. In his lone start, the 6-4 righty gave up three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST –
   NASHVILLE, TN
Friday - Partly Cloudy, High of 54 degrees, low of 32 degrees.
20% chance of rain, Wind at 9 mph.
Saturday - Partly Cloudy, High of 61 degrees, low of 33 degrees.
20% chance of rain, Wind at 12 mph.
Sunday - Partly Cloudy, High of 56 degrees, low of 28 degrees.
0% chance of rain, Wind at 9 mph.
HUESMAN NAMED A10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
In the first Atlantic 10 awards release of the season, sophomore
Aaron Huesman picked up Co-Player of the Week honors after his performance the first two days of the Spartanburg Classic. The Dublin, Ohio native batted .556 with nine RBI, two home runs, including a grand slam in Dayton's two contests.
AGAINST THESE OPPONENTS
Dayton has not played any of these opponents in the past few seasons. The last meeting between the Flyers and Lipscomb was on Feb. 19, 2011 when the Bisons defeated Dayton 18-2.
FLYERS PICKED TO FINISH TENTH IN A10
The Atlantic 10 released their 2014 preseason poll and tabbed the Flyers to finish 10th in the league this year. After failing to reach the postseason in 2013, Dayton reconstructed its lineup and brought in a number of new faces. Little is known about the Flyers around the league, which puts them in prime position to upset the A-10 favorites.
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Mark Podlas
Preseason Second Team All-Atlantic 10 – College Sports Madness
Robby Sunderman
Best Baserunner - College Baseball Insider
WEYBRIGHT AN ALL-ROOKIE PERFORMER
Dayton closer
Nick Weybright was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team after a breakout freshman season for the Flyers. The Indianapolis native had a 2.53 ERA, a 3-1 record, and four saves in 21.1 innings of work. Weybright also had a 20-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and was a solid component of the UD bullpen.
COVERING THE NATION
The 2014 Dayton roster has players from across the United States has Coach Vittorio and his staff have recruited the best in brightest players not only in the Midwest, but from each region of the country. Flyers hail from 10 different states, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, New York, Washington, and California.
GETTING BACK TO THE A10 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Dayton Baseball won both the regular season and tournament titles in 2012, advancing to the first NCAA tournament in school history. This year's squad has eight players that were members of the 2012 Championship team and four coaches that were involved in that title run as well. With many new faces in the line-up these returners have stressed the importance and what it takes to get back on top of the A10.
THE NEW AND IMPROVED ATLANTIC 10
This season will mark a new era in the Atlantic 10 Conference as far as baseball is concerned with schools leaving and joining the A10. Departing after last season were Butler, Xavier, and Charlotte. New to the A10 this year will be George Mason, with Davidson joining in 2015.
HONORARY FLYER CAMERON NEAL
During the 2013 season, the Dayton Baseball program announced the addition of
Cameron Neal to its family. Cameron is a local boy that has battled a brain tumor. He was partnered up with the Flyers through the Friends of Jaclyn foundation. What started out as a young boy meeting with a few players has blossomed into a tight-knit relationship that not only benefits Cameron, but the players as well. With his own locker and uniform, Cameron will be seen at as many of the games as he can attend this season. He is not part of just a community service project, but truly a member of the Dayton Baseball team.
VITTORIO JOINS 600-WIN CLUB
With a dramatic 5-4 win over Wofford on Friday, March 1, 2013 Coach Vittorio got the 600th win of his career. Already the winningest coach in Dayton history, Coach V surpassed yet another milestone in his career.
FORMER FLYERS IN THE MINOR, MAJOR LEAGUES
Brian Blasik - Quad Cities River Bandits (Houston Astros)
Mike Hauschild - Lancaster Jethawks (Houston Astros)
Cameron Hobson - Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners)
Jerry Blevins - Washington Nationals (MLB)
Craig Stammen - Washington Nationals (MLB)
