DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team will head up-state Wednesday for a doubleheader at Youngstown State. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. in Youngstown, Ohio, at YSU Softball Complex.

About Dayton
Dayton (8-17, 0-3 A-10) opened Atlantic 10 play at home this past weekend, dropping three games to visiting Fordham. The Flyers step out of conference play Wednesday for a non-conference match-up with the Penguins of Youngstown State. UD is led offensively by junior Kyle Davidson with a .324 average and 23 hits to go with 14 runs scored. In the circle senior Manda Cash (3-5) leads the Flyer pitching staff with a 1.57 ERA (1st A-10) and 71 strikeouts (2nd A-10).

Scouting Youngstown State
Youngstown State (9-14, 1-2 Horizon) kicked off Horizon League play Saturday and Sunday against IUPUI at home, dropping the three-game series 1-2. The Penguins' offense is led by Lexi Zappitelli with a .526 (20-for-38) batting average (1st Horizon) and Yazmine Romero with 32 hits (t-1st Horizon). Paige Geanangel leads the Youngstown State pitching corps with a 4.40 ERA while Elle Buffenbarger's team-best 33 strikeouts ranks tied for sixth in the Horizon League.

Series Stuff
There have been 16 previous meetings between Dayton and Youngstown State and the two squads knotted at eight wins apiece. The Flyers have won five of the last six games in the series that dates back to 1988. The two last squared off on April 21, 2014 in Youngstownas UD and YSU spilt a doubleheader.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2018 season, released on March 26, Dayton came in at 232 according to NCAA.com. Youngstown State is ranked 243.

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 625 career strikeouts. Additionally, Cash's 4.03 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the all-time best career average and her career ERA of 1.88 and 42 career wins ranks fourth all-time in program history.

Walk This Way
Senior Kailee Budicin has taken a base on balls 11 times (t-12th A-10) this season and has tallied 61 walks for her career, which ranks fifth all-time in program history.

Catch Me If You Can
As a team, Dayton is 22-for-26 in stolen bases on the season - the 22 stolen bases ranks second in the Atlantic 10. Freshman Briley Sidor has stolen six bases (t-5th) to lead the Flyers while juniors Kyle Davidson and Lisa Tassi have four apiece this season. For her career, junior Kelly Fitzgerald is 9-for-11 in stolen bases and her .818 stolen base percentage ranks seventh all-time.

So Offensive
Three everyday players account for 42 percent of all hits recorded by the Flyers so far this season: junior Kyle Davidson (23), senior Kailee Budicin (19) and freshman Abby Ehrenborg (17).

You Look Familiar
Senior infielder Kailee Budicin has played in 176 games with 173 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. Of note: Budicin has started in 166 consecutive games for the Flyers.

Bring Me Home
Freshman Abby Ehrenborg leads the team and is tied for 12th in the A-10 with 18 RBI this season. Ehrenborg has posted five multiple RBI games in 2018 including five RBI at Wright State on March 15.

#Winning
Dayton head coach Cara LaPlaca tallied her 233rd career win at UD on April 15, 2017 at La Salle, surpassing former Flyer head coach Jodi Eickemeyer as Dayton's all-time winningest coach. She now has 247 wins at UD.