Tournament Central | Dayton Game Notes

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton softball team is set to host the 2014 Flyers Spring Classic this weekend, March 14-16, at UD Softball Stadium. The Flyers will play host to Eastern Michigan, IUPUI and Oakland during the three-day event. Play will kick off Friday afternoon as UD squares off against Eastern Michigan at 4 p.m. for the lone game of the day.

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Dayton (6-12) went 2-2 last weekend at the Colorado State Classic, facing three different opponents over the two-day event. UD did not play Friday due to weather cancellations and started the tournament with a 8-0 loss to Nebraska Omaha on Saturday. Dayton rebounded with a 10-7 victory over Colorado State later that day and a 10-9 win against Southern Utah on Sunday. The Flyers dropped their last game 9-5 against Colorado State on Sunday. Despite its current 6-12 overall record, Dayton is 6-7 in its last 13 games.

Junior Kayla English and freshman Gabrielle Snyder both recorded wins in the circle for UD over the weekend. English pitched 4.1 innings against Colorado State, surrendering just three hits but walking seven batters en route to giving up five earned runs. Snyder pitched the final two innings against Southern Utah, giving up only one earned run to earn the win. Junior outfielder Natalie Mariano and senior catcher Kasi Vazquez generated most of the runs for the Flyers. Mariano had four RBI over the course of the weekend while Vazquez racked up seven RBI off the strength of two home runs against Southern Utah.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Dayton is scheduled to play three games during the Dayton Flyers Spring Classic. Eastern Michigan is coming off a five-loss weekend at the FGCU Tournament in Fort Myers, Fla., Feb. 28-Mar. 2. The Eagles hold a 6-13 record on the season and have lost seven of their last eight games. Oakland has posted a 10-8 record this season. The Golden Grizzlies' last action was at the South Florida Tournament, Feb. 28-Mar. 2, when they won four out of the five games they played. IUPUI went 1-3 in the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic Feb. 28-Mar. 1 with the final game of the tourney being canceled. The Jaguars are 6-9 on the season and are suffering a three-game losing streak.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton has the following all-time record against:
Eastern Michigan     9-3 - last meeting: 2012
Oakland                  0-1-1 - last meeting: 2009
IUPUI                     12-12 - last meeting: 2012

LAST TIME OUT
The Flyers were in Fort Collins, Colo., last weekend for a four-game set at the Colorado State Classic. Dayton dropped its first game against Nebraska Omaha, 8-0 (6). The Flyers then took their next two games with 10-7 and 10-9 with wins over Colorado State and Southern Utah, respectively. UD then lost its last game, 9-5, against host CSU.

FOUR EVERYDAY HITTERS ABOVE .300
Four everyday players for the Flyers are currently hitting above the .300 mark with senior Rachel Archer leading the way at .424. Freshman Gabrielle Snyder does double duty, holding a .341 average while also leading the Flyers with a 4.05 ERA in the circle. Junior Tiffany Ricks ranks second on the team with a .344 average but she's tops on the squad with 16 runs, 14 RBI, five doubles and 36 total bases. Short stop sensation senior Jordan Jennings holds a .333 average with eight RBI and she has also collected six walks. Senior Alysha Isaacson is also batting at .320 in a pinch-hitter role, connecting on eight hits in 25 at bats.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Several Flyers rank among the top five in the Atlantic 10 Conference in several categories, including junior Natalie Mariano who is the toughest to strikeout (28.5) and senior Kasi Vazquez who is tied for first place with five home runs. Junior Tiffany Ricks ranks second in the conference in runs per game (0.89) and freshman Gabrielle Snyder is second int he toughest to strikeout category (22.0) behind Mariano. Vazquez is fourth in home runs/game (0.28) and Mariano ranks fifth in sacrifice hits/game (0.22). Senior Rachel Archer comes in at fifth place in two categories: batting average (.424) and stolen bases (0.39).