GAME PREVIEW• The University of Dayton baseball team will travel to Richmond this weekend after a 12-day layoff from Atlantic 10 play. The series will begin Friday at 3 p.m. ET before a meeting Saturday at 1 p.m. and the finale Sunday at 10 a.m.
• The Flyers are 14-33 overall this season and 3-15 in the Atlantic 10. Dayton is coming off a mid-week split of its games, including a win over Ohio and a loss to Butler. The Flyers are also 3-13 on the road this season.
• Richmond enters the weekend with a 23-20 record overall and an 11-7 A-10 mark. This series will play an integral part in the Spiders' postseason hopes. Head Coach Tracy Woodson has guided Richmond to an 11-7 record at home in 2015.
WHO TO WATCH - DAYTON• Offensively, Dayton is batting .241 with a .336 slugging percentage and .33 on-base percentage. The Flyers have 49 stolen bases and 224 free passes as well.
• Leading the way for UD are seniors
A.J. Ryan, who has seven home runs and 24 RBI,
Zach Schira, who has 22 RBI and 18 walks, and
Alex Harris, who has 10 steals and 26 runs scored.
• Pitchers
Charlie Dant (1-9, 4.94 ERA, 64 k's),
Noah Buettgen (3-6, 4.91 ERA, 48 k's), and
Mason Kutruff (5-2, 4.89 ERA) will get the nod as starters.
• As a pitching staff, Dayton has a 5.32 ERA and 312 strikeouts in 416 innings of work. Freshman
Tyson Schnitkey leads the team with 21 appearances while junior
Sam Brunner has five saves on the year.
• Defensively, the Flyers have a .958 fielding percentage with 77 errors.
WHO TO WATCH - THE OPPONENT• Richmond has a team average of .283 to go with 144 extra-base hits, including 46 home runs. The Spiders also have a team slugging percentage of .449, which ranks second in the A-10.
• Junior Matt Dacey is one of the biggest offensive juggernauts in the league with 15 home runs, 43 RBI, 44 runs scored, and a .682 slugging percentage. Senior Michael Morman has added 40 RBI and 17 doubles to the effort while batting .248 on the season.
• Richmond's pitching staff has combined for an ERA of 4.41 through 43 games with 337 strikeouts compared to 161 walks. Ray Harron is the anchor of the bullpen with seven saves and a 1.11 ERA in 22 appearances.
• The Spiders defensivelyhave a .968 fielding percentage and 53 errors in 2015.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST – RICHMOND, VA.
Friday – Partly Cloudy, High of 83 degrees, low of 64 degrees. 20% chance of rain, Wind at 8 mph
Saturday – Scattered Storms, High of 87 degrees, low of 64 degrees. 50% chance of rain, Wind at 8 mph
Sunday – PM Thunderstorms, High of 86 degrees, low of 66 degrees. 80% chance of rain, Wind at 8 mph
LAST MEETINGDayton and Richmond met three times at UD last year with the Flyers taking the series 2-1. Game won saw a 19-10 victory by Dayton before Richmond took game two 4-2. The series finale came down to the wire with UD winning 10-9.
STATISTICAL RANKINGSThe Flyers are ranked 12th in the Atlantic 10 in team batting average and 12th in team ERA. Individually, Ryan is eighth in home runs while Dant is tied for second in innings pitched and fourth in strikeouts.
Tyson Schnitkey is ranked eighth in appearances as well.
The Spiders are ranked fifth in the A-10 in team batting average and sixth in team ERA. Individually, Harron is fifth in ERA while McGuigan is ninth. Dacey is also second in runs scored, fifth in RBI, third in total bases, and leads the league in home runs.
