DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team will open its weekend of play at No. 24/22 Kentucky on Thursday afternoon. First pitch between the Flyers and the Wildcats is set for 4 p.m. at UK's John Cropp Stadium.

About Dayton
Dayton (4-6) was on the west coast last weekend and recorded a 2-3 record at UCSB's Gaucho Classic. UD split a doubleheader with host UCSB and went 1-2 against San Diego. The Flyers are led by senior Kailee Budicin with a .353 batting average and 12 hits while freshman Abby Ehrenborg has tallied a team-best nine RBI. Senior left-handed pitcher Manda Cash leads Dayton's pitching corps with a team-low 2.07 ERA over 27 innings pitched and has tallied a team-best 26 strikeouts.

Scouting Kentucky
Kentucky (9-3) is currently enjoying a four-game winning streak after dropping a close 2-1 decision to then-22nd ranked Minnesota on Feb. 23. The Wildcats are led offensively by Bailey Vick with a .633 average and 19 hits while Abbey Cheek has knocked in a team-high 16 RBI. In the circle, UK's Grace Baalman (5-1) carries a team-low 2.25 ERA and has recorded 25 strikeouts.

Series Stuff
Kentucky leads Dayton, 5-3, in the all-time series that dates back to 1997. The two most recently squared off last season at UK's John Cropp Classic as the Wildcats held on a for a 1-0 win over the Flyers on March 9. UD's last win against UK was 1-0 victory on April 13, 1999 in Dayton.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's final Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2017 season, Dayton came in at 174 according to NCAA.com. Kentucky was ranked 18.

Star in the Circle
Senior Manda Cash, the 2016 A-10 Pitcher of the Year, has already made her mark on the Dayton record book and continues to climb the rankings. She  became Dayton's all-time career strikeouts leader on the first day of the 2018 season and now has 580 career strikeouts. Additionally, Cash's 4.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the all-time best career average and her career ERA of 1.94 ranks fourth all-time in program history.

So Offensive
Three everyday players account for 48 percent of all hits recorded by the Flyers so far this season and all three carry a batting average at or above .300: senior Kailee Budicin (.353, 12 H), junior Kyle Davidson (.333, 10 H) and freshman Abby Ehrenborg (.300, 9 H). Senior left-handed pitcher Manda Cash is also hitting above .300 (.333) but has only had nine at bats.

You Look Familiar
Senior infielder Kailee Budicin has played in 161 games with 158 starts as a Flyer. She is on pace to shoot up through the Dayton top 10 list for career games played this season with the possibility of setting a new program record. The current record holder, Natalie Mariano (2012-15) played in 203 career games. Budicin enters 2018 with a streak of 151 consecutive games started.