DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team is heading to the west coast this weekend to take part in the Gaucho Classic hosted by UCSB. Dayton with get five games in Feb. 22-24 and will square off against host UCSB as well as San Diego.

About Dayton
Dayton (2-3) recorded wins over Radford and UNCW at the Charlotte First Pitch Classic Feb. 16-18 in its opening weekend of the 2018 season. Junior Kyle Davidson and freshman Abby Ehrenborg led the Flyer offense, posting identical .357 hitting percentages (5-for-14) as Davidson tallied two doubles and Ehrenborg knocked out her first career home run. In the circle, senior Manda Cash became the program's all-time career strikeouts record holder after tallying 21 Ks in four appearances.

Scouting UCSB
UCSB (5-6) started the season strong, winning five of its first six games but has since dropped five games in a row. Genesis Ramirez leads the Gauchos with a .409 hitting percentage while Alyssa Diaz has recorded a team-high 14 hits over 11 games. Lena Mayer carries the team low ERA of 2.58 over 19.0 innings of work and Felisha Noriega has a team-high 14 strikeouts but has also walked 18 batters.

Scouting San Diego
San Diego (6-5) had a great showing at its home tournament Feb. 8-11, posting a 5-1 record for the weekend but faltered at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Arizona, recording four losses to one win. The Toreros will play a single game at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday before squaring off against the Flyers on Friday. San Diego is led by Kailey Hill with a .355 average while Halle Kyler (3-2) carries the team low ERA of 1.86.  

Series Stuff
UCSB: UCSB leads, 1-0
Dayton and UCSB have only previously met once, a 9-8 win by the Gauchos in nine innings in Santa Barbara on Feb. 7, 2014.

San Diego: First Meeting

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's final Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2017 season, Dayton came in at 174 according to NCAA.com. UCSB was ranked 111 and San Diego came in at 166.