Dayton Game Notes | Live Stats

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton softball team will square off against intra-state rival Youngstown State Monday afternoon as the two are set for a two-game tilt at YSU Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and admission to the park is free. The Penguins will be the Flyers' last regular season non-conference opponent of 2014.

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Dayton (19-25) is coming off a split doubleheader Friday at St. Bonaventure, dropping the first game 5-4 and taking the second game 3-0. The Flyers are one win away from a 20-win season which would mark head coach Cara LaPlaca's fifth over the last seven seasons. UD is currently in seventh place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, one spot out of qualifying for the league's post-season tournament.

Senior Alysha Isaacson leads the team with a .429 average at the plate and would lead the league but her 2.45 at bats/game doesn't meet minimum hitting requirements (2.5). Junior Tiffany Ricks has tallied a team-best 55 hits while also leading the team with 35 runs, 34 RBI, nine home runs and 93 total bases. Senior Kasi Vazquez has knocked out eight home runs and has taken a team-leading 25 bases on balls and has been hit seven times. In the circle, sophomore Emily Froment holds the team's low ERA at 4.47 while senior Kayla English has recorded a team-best 102 strikeouts.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State (22-19) went 1-2 in its recent Horizon League series over the weekend, picking up the 3-2 win Saturday at home for Senior Day. The Penguins' two-game set that was scheduled at St. Bonaventure for Wednesday, April 16 was canceled. Miranda Castiglione leads the team with a .391 average, 35 runs, 52 hits and six stolen bases. YSU's ace in the circle is Casey Cozier who holds the team-low ERA of 2.39 and a win-loss record of 13-6.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton and Youngstown State have previously met 11 times with the Penguins holding the slight 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. The two squads last met in 2010 for a doubleheader at the Flyers' UD Softball Stadium with Dayton coming away with two wins over Youngstown State.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flyers took a trip to Olean, N.Y., for an Atlantic 10 doubleheader on Friday and split the series with a 5-4 loss in the first game and a 3-0 shutout win in the nightcap. Junior Tiffany Ricks went 3-for-7 at the plate for the day while two Flyers tallied home runs on the afternoon as well. Freshman Gabrielle Snyder and sophomore Emily Froment combined on the shutout in the circle for UD in the second game.

FOUR FLYERS ABOVE .300, FIFTH KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
Four players for the Flyers are currently hitting above the .300 mark, including senior Alysha Isaacson who is topping out at .429 (which would lead the A-10 but she does not meet the minimum hitting requirements). Junior Tiffany Ricks is second on the team with her average of .379 and senior Rachel Archer is behind her at .359. Freshman Gabrielle Snyder does double duty with her .320 batting average to go with her 5.19 ERA. Junior Natalie Mariano hits at a .298 clip and is on the cusp of returning to the .300 club.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Senior Alysha Isaacson has recorded a hit in 11 of the last 12 games and 18 of the last 20 games she has played. And her current eight-game hitting streak is the team's longest active streak. Over the last 20 games, Isaacson has gone 32-for-63 (.508) at the plate with 12 doubles and three home runs while batting in 22 runs and scoring 14 runs herself. Isaacson has also twice been named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week over this stretch as well while posting a .551 on-base percentage and a .841 slugging percentage.

I'M GETTING ON
Junior Natalie Mariano has safely reached base in 16 consecutive games, a streak that bests senior Rachel Archer's season-best streak of 14 consecutive games of reaching base earlier this season. Junior Tiffany Ricks is next with an active on-base streak of nine straight games while senior Alysha Isaacson has reached base in eight consecutive games.

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 55 hits and 145 at bats while ranking second in total bases (93) and is tied for second in runs (35) and home runs (9). Senior Rachel Archer is second in the A-10 with 52 hits, third in at bats (142) and fourth with 16 steal attempts. Senior Kasi Vazquez is tied for second in the league with 25 walks and her eight home runs in tied for fourth. Junior Natalie Mariano is tied for the lead in the conference with eight sacrifice bunts and is second with 163 plate appearances while senior Alysha Isaacson is tied for second in doubles with 10.

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.