GAME PREVIEW• The University of Dayton baseball team will return to Atlantic 10 action this weekend with a three game series against VCU. The series begins Friday at 3 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. game on Saturday and the finale at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
• The Flyers are 8-18 overall and 1-5 in A-10 play with their conference win coming over La Salle last weekend. Dayton is 2-9 at home this year and has won two of its last three games.
• VCU is 15-12 this year with a 2-1 A-10 mark and 6-7 road record. The Rams most recently lost to in-state foe Virginia on Tuesday, 5-3, but previously had won five of the last six games. Head Coach Shawn Stiffler is in his sixth year at VCU and third year as the head coach.
WHO TO WATCH - DAYTON• Offensively, Dayton is batting .237 with 43 doubles, 32 stolen bases, and 140 free passes.
• Leading the way for the Flyers is senior
Alex Harris, who is batting .296 with 20 runs scored and seven doubles. Fellow seniors
A.J. Ryan and
Sergio Plasencia have combined for 32 RBI on the season.
• Pitchers
Charlie Dant (1-5, 5.93 ERA, 38 k's),
Noah Buettgen (5.04 ERA, 31 k's), and
Bradley Horn (1-1, 31 k's) will get the nod as starters.
• As a pitching staff, Dayton has a team ERA of 5.26 with 200 strikeouts compared to 125 walks. Freshman
Tyson Schnitkey leads the team with 15 appearances while redshirt freshman
Jason Johnson has a 1.00 ERA and a save in 10 relief stints.
• Defensively, Dayton has a .955 fielding percentage with 47 errors.
WHO TO WATCH - THE OPPONENT• VCU has a .271 team batting average and 44 extra-base hits to go with 29 stolen bases on the year.
• Reigning A-10 Player of the Week Vimael Machin is batting .358 this season with 23 RBI, nine doubles, and a .424 on-base percentage. Matt Davis has chipped in 17 RBI and ranks sixth in the nation in sacrifice flies.
• VCU's pitching ranks 13th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, 15th in hits allowed, and 11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio. As a team, the Rams have a 2.84 ERA, which leads the A-10.
• VCU defensively has a .957 fielding percentage with 48 errors in 27 games.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST – DAYTON, OHIO
Friday – Rain, High of 61 degrees, low of 37 degrees. 100% chance of rain, Wind at 13 mph
Saturday – Sunny, High of 53 degrees, low of 40 degrees. 10% chance of rain, Wind at 10 mph.
Sunday – Sunny, High of 65 degrees, low of 49 degrees. 0% chance of rain, Wind at 18 mph.
LAST MEETINGDayton and VCU last met in April of 2013 for a three-game series. The Rams took games one and two by a combined score of 18-3, but the Flyers won the finale 4-1 on Sunday.
WITHIN THE CONFERENCEThe Flyers are ranked 13th in the Atlantic 10 in batting average and 11th in team ERA. Individually, Ryan is tied for sixth in home runs while Dant is second in innings pitched and sixth in strikeouts. Freshman
Tyson Schnitkey is tied for the league lead in appearances with 14 on the year.
The Rams are ranked fifth in the league in batting average, but lead the A-10 in team ERA with a 2.84 mark. VCU is also second in the league in fielding percentage as well. Individually, Machin is eighth in batting average and fourth in hits while Lees is atop the A-10 in ERA with a 0.00 mark through 22 innings. Blanchard and Dwyer are also No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in strikeouts.
BUETTGEN EARNS A-10 HONORSDayton senior pitcher
Noah Buettgen was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week on March 30 after his efforts in a 12-strikout, eight-inning victory over La Salle on March 28. It was the most strikeouts in the league this year and a career-high for Buettgen.
Â
