Tournament Central | Game Notes

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton softball team is heading to Nashville to take part in the Tennessee State Tiger Classic Feb. 21-23. The Flyers will open the weekend against Temple and Western Michigan Friday at TSU's Tiger Field.

TICKET INFO
The cost of admission to the Tiger Classic a $5 per day and $12 for a weekend pass.

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Dayton (0-5) opened the 2014 season out west at the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Classic Feb. 7-9, dropping all five of its contests. The Flyers twice squared off against nationally-ranked Texas A&M as well as CSU Bakersfield while facing the host Gauchos only once.

Freshman Gabby Snyder had a stellar debut weekend for the Flyers, both offensively and in the circle. For the weekend, Snyder posted a .467 average with seven hits and put together a 2.10 ERA over 13.1 innings pitched. Senior Jordan Jennings was the second of three Flyers to record seven hits over the weekend, including three doubles, while also knocking in three RBI. Junior Tiffany Ricks was the third, with two doubles and a home run, 12 total bases and a team-high four RBI.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Dayton will face five different opponents in this weekend's Tiger Classic beginning with former Atlantic 10 Conference foe Temple on Friday to get things started. The Owls have yet to play a game this season but defeated the Flyers, 7-2, in UD first game of the 2013 A-10 Tournament. Western Michigan is an even 3-3 on the season under veteran coach Jo Evans. The Broncos have also had a week off after playing in the Kajikawa Classic Feb. 6-9 in Tempe, Ariz. UD regional rival Youngstown State (2-2) picked up two wins at the USC-Upstate Tournament Feb. 7-9 and Indiana State (1-3) spent the first weekend of the season at the Iowa State Cyclone Invitational. The host Tennessee State Tigers (3-7) already have 10 games under their belts this season and have faced some tough competition in the likes of nationally-ranked Alabama, Arizona State and Arizona.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton has the following all-time record against:
Temple                    13-25 - last meeting: 2013
Western Michigan    0-1 - last meeting: 2013
Youngstown State    5-6 - last meeting: 2010
Indiana State           1-7 - last meeting: 2009
Tennessee State      2-1 - last meeting: 2008

LAST TIME OUT
The Flyers twice squared off against then-11th-ranked Texas A&M, falling to the Aggies 10-4 and 7-1, at the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Classic Feb. 7-9. Dayton also played CSU Bakersfield twice during classic, dropping a close defensive battle, 1-0, and a 4-1 decision to the Roadrunners. UD and UCSB only played each other once, the Flyers' first game of the season, and the Gauchos needed extra innings to fight back UD, 9-8 (9).

SNYDER TABBED A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Gabby Snyder was named the Atlantic 10 Softball Rookie of the Week Feb. 10 in the first round of weekly conference honors this season. Snyder started all five games for the Flyers over the weekend at the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Classic and went 7-for-15 (.467) at the plate while also tossing 13.1 innings in the circle. In the season opener against UCSB, Snyder was 3-for-4 with a double, a RBI, a runs scored and a walk in her collegiate debut. She also threw 4.2 innings of relief, striking out four batters to only one walk. Snyder also had a multi-hit game Saturday against CSU Bakersfield, recording two hits in three at-bats while also putting in a complete game in the circle for Dayton as one unearned run scored on four hits over seven innings. For the weekend, Snyder posted a .533 slugging percentage, a .529 on-base percentage and a 2.10 ERA.

UD PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH IN A-10
Dayton softball has been chosen to finish sixth in Atlantic 10 play this season, according to the preseason poll conducted by the league's 10 head coaches. Dayton tallied a school-record 12 wins in league action in 2013 and made the program's fifth appearance in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship - coach LaPlaca's second appearance in the post-season tournament in the last three seasons. She guided her team to a 22-24 overall record - the program's best winning percentage (.478) since 2005 - and a 12-9 mark in league action. The Flyers finished the 2013 regular season in sixth place in conference standings.