DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team will play its first home series of the season this weekend as it welcomes George Mason to UD Softball Stadium to open Atlantic 10 Conference play. The two will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. followed by a single game Sunday, also at 12 p.m. Admission is free.

About Dayton
Dayton (10-15, 0-0 A-10) split its midweek twin bill at Wright State Wednesday, defeating Bowling Green, 5-4, in a neutral-site match-up, followed by a 7-5 loss to the host Raiders. UD closed out its pre-conference tournament slate last weekend at the Miami Invitational, posting a 1-4 mark against Austin Peay, Miami (Ohio) and Michigan State. Senior Kyle Davidson leads the team with a .370 average (9th A-10), 30 hits (5th A-10) - including eight doubles (t-2nd A-10), and 12 stolen bases (2nd A-10). In the circle, senior Jessica Gilliam and junior Jessica Weaver have each worked 59.0 innings for the Flyers. Gilliam leads the team with 39 strikeouts (7th A-10) on the season.

Scouting the Patriots
George Mason (8-13, 0-0 A-10) have played 13 straight games at home heading into this weekend series at Dayton. The Patriots split a doubleheader against the Red Flash of Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday, dropping a 12-8 decision before claiming a 6-5 win. GMU is led offensively by Alyssa Lawton with a .326 average while Liz Seymour has tallied 17 hits. Bekah Ansbro has tossed 51.2 innings in the circle for George Mason and has recorded a team-best 47 strikeouts.

Series Stuff
Dayton and George Mason have previously met 16 times since the series began in 1992 with each team having claimed eight wins apiece. In 2018, UD and GMU squared off four times with the Patriots sweeping the regular season series but the Flyers eliminated George Mason in the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 4-2 win on May 9.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2019 season posted on March 17, Dayton came in at 210 according to NCAA.com. George Mason was ranked 215.

So Offensive
Three Flyers are currently hitting above .300 (min. 10 AB) and their combined number of hits account for 45 percent of the team's hits.
Kyle Davidson: .370, 30
Lisa Tassi: .343, 24
Abby Ehrenborg: .329, 23

Start Me Up
Senior Kyle Davidson has made 138 consecutive appearances in the Flyers' starting lineup. During her career at UD, Davidson has started in 160 of the 169 games she has played.

#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 280 wins at UD. Notable - coach LaPlaca currently has 411 career wins as a head coach.