Dayton Game Notes | Live Stats

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton softball team will close out its 2014 regular season Saturday with a home doubleheader against league-leading Fordham. First pitch between the Rams and Flyers for the two-game Atlantic 10 tilt is set for noon with a Senior Day recognition before the start of the first game. Admission is free to UD Softball Stadium.

In honor of our six senior team members, there will be a day of celebration at the field that will include a bouncy house and face painting for the kids, a FREE cupcake from Go Cupcakes for the first 100 fans, several in-game promotions with giveaways including rally towels, the C'est Cheese Food Truck will be there for lunch service and the Varsity D Club will be providing a cookout for all after the completion of the second game.

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Dayton (23-27, 7-9 A-10) went 3-1 over its four-game road stint this past weekend, picking up much-needed Atlantic 10 Conference wins at George Mason and George Washington. The Flyers have hit the 20-win mark, making it head coach Cara LaPlaca's fifth 20-win season over her seven years at the helm of the program and the 23 wins is the most in one season for LaPlaca. UD is currently in sixth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings and in line to qualify for the league's post-season tournament.

Senior Alysha Isaacson leads the team and the Atlantic 10 with a .403 average at the plate and ranks second in the league with a team-best 15 doubles. Junior Tiffany Ricks has tallied a team-high 59 hits (t-1st A-10) while also leading the team with 40 runs, 38 RBI, nine home runs (t-3rd A-10) and 99 total bases (2nd A-10). Senior Kasi Vazquez has knocked out eight home runs, has taken a team-leading 27 bases on balls (3rd A-10) and has been hit seven times. In the circle, sophomore Emily Froment holds the team's low ERA at 4.22 while senior Kayla English has recorded a team-best 118 strikeouts (3rd A-10).

SCOUTING FORDHAM
Fordham (33-16, 13-1 A-10) extended its winning streak to 15 games on Saturday with two wins at La Salle, 11-2 (5) and 8-2, in league action. With an almost perfect conference-game record, the Rams sit firmly in first place in A-10 standings and will be the No. 1 seed for the post-season tournament May 7-10 held at Fordham's Bahoshy Softball Complex. The Rams are led offensively by Amy Van Hoven with a .371 average and 52 hits while Elise Fortier boasts a team-best 16 home runs and 64 RBI. In the circle, Michele Daubman is Fordham's ace with a 2.48 ERA and 15-9 record.

SERIES STUFF
The all-time series between Fordham and Dayton is currently tied at 19 wins apiece over 38 meetings between the two squads. The Rams and Flyers last squared off on April 19 -20, 2013 in Bronx, N.Y., as Fordham took the series sweep with 5-2 and 4-1 wins over Dayton.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flyers split their final regular season road Atlantic 10 series on Sunday at George Washington as the Colonials celebrated Senior Day. Dayton picked up an 8-2 win in the first game but GW worked the 3-0 shutout in the night cap. Freshman Hannah DeSalvo knocked out her first career home run and freshman Gabrielle Snyder went 3-for-5 on the day with a double, a walk and a RBI for the Flyers.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 436 ... 10 AWAY
Junior right-handed pitcher Kayla English is only 10 K's away from setting a new Dayton career records for strikeouts. The current record holder, Sara Hatcher, finished her career at Dayton with 435 K's and English is right behind her in the all-time standings with 426 in just under three complete seasons at UD.

FOUR FLYERS ABOVE .300, MARIANO AT .297
Four players for the Flyers are currently hitting above the .300 mark, including senior Alysha Isaacson who is topping out at .403 to lead the Atlantic 10. Senior Rachel Archer and junior Tiffany Ricks are both swinging with a .360 average while freshman Gabrielle Snyder does double duty with her .330 batting average to go with her 3.84 ERA. Junior Natalie Mariano hits at a .297 clip and is just on the outside of the .300 club.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Senior Alysha Isaacson is carrying by far the best batting average of her career to lead not only the Flyers but also the entire Atlantic 10 Conference at .403. She has batted a team-best and career-high 15 doubles this season to go along with four home runs and 36 RBI. The Chula Vista, Calif., native put together an eight-game hitting streak and a 12-game reached-base-safely streak earlier in the season.

I'M GETTING ON
Junior Natalie Mariano safely reached base in 21 consecutive games, a streak that was broken Sunday in UD's second game at GW. Senior Rachel Archer set her season-best streak of 14 consecutive games of reaching base earlier this season and has currently reached base in four straight games. Senior Alysha Isaacson had the third-longest streak this season at 12 consecutive games.

RECORD-BREAKING SEASON ALREADY
As a team, the Flyers have already surpassed a few program records this season. Three new team records are 215 RBI (195), 242 runs (228) and 146 walks (137). Dayton has currently record six pitching saves which ties the current team record and the squad's batting average (.282) and slugging percentage (.433) are both ahead of current records as well.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Several Flyers rank among the top five in the Atlantic 10 Conference in several categories, including senior Alysha Isaacson who leads the league with a batting average of .403. Junior Tiffany Ricks leads the league with 164 at bats and ranks tied for first in hits (59), second in total bases (99), third in plate appearances (183) and tied for third in home runs (9). Senior Rachel Archer is second in the A-10 with 161 at bats, third in hits (58) and tied for fourth in plate appearances (178). Senior Kasi Vazquez is third in the league with 27 walks and her eight home runs in tied for fifth. Junior Natalie Mariano leads the league with 186 plate appearances and is tied for the lead in the conference with nine sacrifice bunts while senior Alysha Isaacson is in second in doubles with 15.

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.

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