Dayton Notes | Massachusetts Notes | Championship Central | Championship Bracket

BRONX, N.Y. - The University of Dayton is set to take on Massachusetts Wednesday in the first game of the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship. First pitch between the fifth-seeded Flyers and the No. 4 Minutewomen is set for noon at Fordham's Murphy Athletic Complex. This is the Flyers second-consecutive appearance in the league's post-season tournament and the program's third in the last four years. The double-elimination tournament will tale place May 7-10 and the entire A-10 Softball Championship can be viewed live and free of charge via the A-10 Digital Network.

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Dayton (25-27, 9-9 A-10) played its way into the 2014 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship this past weekend with a series sweep of the first-place Fordham Rams, 10-9 (10) and 7-3. The Flyers ended up with the fifth seed for the tournament and will square off against No. 4 Massachusetts Wednesday at noon. The Flyers have surpassed 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. The 25 wins is the most in one season for LaPlaca and are the most for the team since 2000.

Senior Alysha Isaacson leads the team and ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 with a .389 average at the plate and ranks second in the league with a team-best 15 doubles. Junior Tiffany Ricks has tallied a team-high 63 hits (1st A-10) while also leading the team with 41 runs (5th A-10), 40 RBI (4th A-10), nine home runs (t-3rd A-10) and 103 total bases (2nd A-10). Senior Kasi Vazquez has knocked out eight home runs, has taken a team-leading 27 bases on balls (4th A-10) and has been hit seven times. In the circle, sophomore Emily Froment holds the team's low ERA at 3.08 while senior Kayla English has recorded a team-best 123 strikeouts (3rd A-10).

SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts (15-20-1, 9-6-1 A-10) finished the regular season as the fourth seed heading into this week's A-10 Tournament. The Minutewomen split their series with the George Mason Patriots on Saturday, dropping game one, 5-0, but rallying for game two, 6-5. UMass offensive leader Jena Cozza was recently named the 2014 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year while two other Minutewomen earned mention on post-season rosters. Caroline Raymond in Massachusetts' ace in the circle, holding a 2.98 ERA and had recorded nine wins on the season.

SERIES STUFF
After 36 games in the all-time series between Massachusetts and Dayton, the Minutewomen lead, 32-4. This will be the third meeting between the two this season as UMass swept the doubleheader in Amherst earlier in the year, claiming a 9-4 win and a 5-2 victory in the nightcap. The Flyers and Minutewomen have faced off one other time in the Atlantic 10 Championship, the opening game of the 1999 tournament when UMass picked up the 6-1 win to advance.

FLYERS AGAINST THE FIELD
Dayton posted a 4-6 record this season against the five other teams that are participating in the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship: Fordham 2-0, Saint Joseph's 1-1 and La Salle 1-1, and Massachusetts 0-2 and Saint Louis 0-2. Over those 10 games, senior Alysha Isaacson hit .441 going 15-for-34 at the plate with six doubles and two home runs while sophomore Emily Froment posted a 1.40 ERA in seven appearances.

ALL-TIME IN THE TOURNEY
In the team's first back-to-back appearance in the A-10 Championship since 2000, the Flyers are participating in their sixth post-season tournament in program history. Over its five previous outings at the tourney, Dayton has posted a 1-10 record with the program's only win coming in 2000 - a 2-0 win over Temple in Game Four of the championship.

ALL-CONFERENCE ROSTERS FEATURE SIX FLYERS
Six UD softball team members have been named to 2014 Atlantic 10 All-Conference rosters as announced by the conference office following voting by the league's head coaches. Senior Alysha Isaacson (1B) and junior Tiffany Ricks (DP) were named the the First Team while senior Rachel Archer (OF), junior Kayla English (P) and senior Kasi Vazquez (C) earned mention on the Second Team. Freshman Gabrielle Snyder was twice named to the All-Rookie Team for both hitting and for pitching.

Dayton has previously never had more than three team members recognized on post-season squads and this is the first time UD has had two players named to the First Team since the conference moved to a First and Second Team system, Snyder's appointment to the All-Rookie squad also marks the ninth-consecutive year the Flyers have placed a player on that team, every year the team has been voted on.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flyers swept their final regular season series Saturday against the first-place Fordham Rams to earn a five-seed for the A-10 Tournament. Dayton and Fordham went to 10 innings before the Flyers used a walk-off single in the bottom of the frame to take the 10-9 win in the first game followed by a 7-3 victory in the nightcap.

SAVE ONE MORE!
Freshman right-handed pitcher Gabrielle Snyder has tied the Dayton single-season saves record with five on the season, a record set by current UD senior Alysha Isaacson in 2013. With one more save, Snyder will not only set a new Dayton record but she will also tie the Atlantic 10 record of six saves in one season.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 436 ... FIVE AWAY
Junior right-handed pitcher Kayla English is only five 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 431 in just under three complete seasons at UD.

FIVE FLYERS ABOVE .300
Five players for the Flyers are currently hitting above the .300 mark, including senior Alysha Isaacson who is topping out at .389 to lead the team. Junior Tiffany Ricks holds a .366 average while senior Rachel Archer is right behind her at .365. Freshman Gabrielle Snyder does double duty with a .358 average at the plate and a 3.91 ERA in the circle while junior Natalie Mariano is the fifth Flyer above .300 with her .301 average.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Senior Alysha Isaacson is carrying by far the best batting average of her career to lead the Flyers and rank fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference at .389. She has batted a team-best and career-high 15 doubles (2nd A-10) this season to go along with five home runs and 38 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 in UD's second game at George Washington on April 27. Senior Rachel Archer set her season-best streak of 14 consecutive games of reaching base earlier this season and has currently reached base in six straight games. Senior Alysha Isaacson had the third-longest streak this season at 12 consecutive games.

2014 A RECORD-BREAKING SEASON
As a team, the Flyers have already surpassed a few program records this season. Five new team records are 232 RBI (195), 259 runs (228), 82 doubles (76), 149 walks (137) and seven saves (6). Dayton's batting average (.286) and slugging percentage (.443) are both ahead of current records as well.

JENNINGS, SNYDER COLLECT FINAL A-10 WEEKLY AWARDS OF THE SEASON
Senior Jordan Jennings was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week while freshman Gabrielle Snyder earned A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week accolades as announced by the conference office Monday. This is the first career weekly award for Jennings and Snyder picks up her third weekly honor this season after stellar play during the Flyers' series sweep of the first-place Fordham Rams this past Saturday.

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 63 hits and 172 at bats, second in total bases (103), third in plate appearances (191) and tied for third in home runs (9). Senior Rachel Archer is second in the A-10 with 62 hits and 170 at bats and fourth in plate appearances (187). Senior Kasi Vazquez is fourth in the league with 27 walks and junior Natalie Mariano leads the league with 195 plate appearances and is tied second in the conference with nine sacrifice bunts. Senior Alysha Isaacson is in second place 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.