Dayton Game Notes | Live Stats

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton softball team is set to play host to the visiting Saint Joseph's Hawks Sunday for an Atlantic 10 doubleheader. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. April 13 at UD Softball Stadium and admission is free.

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Dayton (16-22, 2-6 A-10) has gone 2-1 in mid-week non-conference games this week as it split a doubleheader at Toledo Wednesday and picked up a 12-4 win in six over Wright State at home on Thursday. Tiffany Ricks' walk-off gram slam ended the game early for the Flyers and Raiders. UD is looking to snap its five-game Atlantic 10 losing streak Sunday against SJU.

Senior Alysha Isaacson leads the team with a .444 average at the plate and would lead the league but she doesn't meet minimum hitting requirements. Ricks has tallied a team-best 48 hits (1st A-10) while also leading the team with 31 runs and 30 RBI and is tied for first on the squad with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 10 stolen bases. Senior Kasi Vazquez has also knocked out eight home runs and has taken a team-leading 23 bases on balls. In the circle, freshman Gabrielle Snyder holds the team's low ERA at 4.11 while senior Kayla English has recorded a team-best 89 strikeouts.

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S
Saint Joseph's (13-13, 3-2 A-10) picked up the 6-0 win over Saint Louis Firday afternoon at SLU's Billiken Sports Center. On Wednesday, the Hawks shutout Rider, 5-0, in mid-week non-conference match-up at home. The win broke up Saint Joseph's three-game skid.

SERIES STUFF
Saint Joseph's holds the 26-10 advantage in the all-time series between the two squads. The Flyers and Hawks last met on April 14, 2013, as SJU picked up two wins in a doubleheader in Philadelphia. UD's last win in the series came on April 15, 2012 when the Flyers won both games of a doubleheader at UD Softball Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton hosted cross-town rival Wright State Thursday evening at UD Softball Complex coming away with the 12-4 win. In the bottom of the sixth, junior Tiffany Ricks sent her eighth home run of the season over the fence with the bases loaded for a walk-off grand slam.

SIX FLYERS ABOVE .300
Six players for the Flyers are currently hitting above the .300 mark, including senior Alysha Isaacson who is topping out at .444 (which would lead the A-10 but she does not meet the minimum hitting requirements). Junior Tiffany Ricks is second on the team and fourth in the A-10 with her average of .378 and senior Rachel Archer is right behind her at .374 (5th A-10). Freshman Gabrielle Snyder does double duty with her .328 batting average to go with her team-low 4.11 ERA. Junior Natalie Mariano hits at a .311 clip and senior Jordan Jennings is the sixth Flyer above .300 with her career-high average of .309.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Several Flyers rank among the top five in the Atlantic 10 Conference in several categories, including junior Tiffany Ricks who leads the league with 48 hits, 82 total bases and 127 at bats while ranking second in runs (31) and tied for second doubles (10) and home runs (8). Senior Rachel Archer is second in the A-10 with 46 hits and 123 at bats while coming fourth with 14 steal attempts. Senior Kasi Vazquez is tied for the league lead with 23 walks and is even with Ricks with eight home runs, second-most in the A-10. Junior Natalie Mariano leads the conference with eight sacrifice bunts and ranks fourth with 38 hits while senior Alysha Isaacson also ranks second in doubles with 10.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Senior Alysha Isaacson has recorded multiple hits in seven of the last nine games she has played in, returning to the field at first base on April 1 after recovering from an injury. During that nine-game stretch, Isaacson has gone 16-for-30 at the plate for a .533 average and has tallied six doubles and two home runs while posting a .576 on-base percentage and a .933 slugging percentage. She has also been named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week on the last two Mondays.

I'M GETTING ON
Junior Natalie Mariano has safely reached base in 10 conescutive games, a streak that is second only to senior Rachel Archer's season-best streak of 14 consecutive games of reaching base earlier this season.

ISAACSON A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
Isaacson, a senior from Chula Vista, Calif., earned her second consecutive A-10 weekly honor after batting 12-for-21 (.571) this past week with two home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored to lead the Flyers. Isaacson recorded five multi-hit games for the week along with totaling six extra base hits. For the week, she posted an on-base percentage of .609 and a slugging percentage of 1.048.

ALMOST PERFECT
Junior Kayla English recorded her first career no-hitter on March 27 in a 9-0 win at Wright State. She allowed only one base-runner, a walk late in the game, as she faced only 19 batters over sixth innings pitched and recorded five strikeouts on the night.

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.