DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team will be closing out the 2019 regular season at home this weekend with a three-game series against Saint Joseph's. The Flyers and Hawks will play a doubleheader May 4 beginning at 12 p.m. followed by a single game on May 5, also at 12 p.m. All games are played at UD Softball Stadium and admission is free. Please follow Dayton softball's Facebook and Twitter accounts for any schedule changes: @DaytonSoftball and @FlyerSoftball

Promotions
Saturday - 40-Year Celebration (contact: delavegaj1@udayton.edu)
Sunday - Senior Day (ceremony to begin at 11:25 a.m.)

About Dayton
Dayton (22-24, 9-6 A-10) enters the weekend tied with Saint Joseph's for fourth place in the Atlantic 10 standings. Last Sunday, Dayton shutout George Washington, 9-0, in five innings to avoid the series sweep by the Colonials. The Flyers are led offensively by senior Lisa Tassi with a .357 average (7th A-10), 54 hits (t-6th A-10) and 13 doubles (t-6th) while sophomore Abby Ehrenborg has knocked out a team-best 12 home runs (3rd A-10) and batted in a career-high 45 RBI. Senior Jessica Gilliam (10-9) carried the team's low ERA of 3.46 and has recorded a team-best 79 strikeouts (9th A-10).  

Scouting the Hawks
Saint Joseph's (25-21, 12-8 A-10) picked up a 3-1 win in its midweek non-conference match-up against Drexel on Wednesday. Last weekend, SJU went 1-2 with Saint Louis in the Hawks' most recent A-10 series. Saint Joseph's is led by Sarah Ostaszewski with a .361 average (10th A-10), 53 hits (t-8th A-10) and 18 doubles (1st A-10) while Ashley Ventura (13-14) leads the Hawks in the circle with a 3.07 ERA (8th A-10) and 74 strikeouts (10th A-10).

Series Stuff
There have been 48 meetings in the all-time series between Dayton and Saint Joseph's and the Hawks hold a 27-20-1 advantage. The Flyers won all three meetings in 2018 and UD has won seven of the last nine match-ups in the series.

RPI Rankings
In the NCAA's most recent Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2019 season posted on April 28, Dayton came in at 198 according to NCAA.com. Saint Joseph's was ranked 168.

Bring Me Home
Sophomore Abby Ehrenborg leads the team and ranks second in the A-10 with 45 RBI this season. Ehrenborg has posted 10 multiple-RBI games in 2019 including five RBI against Kennesaw State on Feb. 16 at the Chattanooga Classic. Ehrenborg was named to the All-Conference First Team and All-Rookie Team following her freshman season for her play primarily as designated player.

Catch Me If You Can
As a team, Dayton is 75-96 in stolen bases on the season - the 75 stolen bases ranks first in the Atlantic 10 and is a new single-season program record. The Flyers' 1.63 SB/game ranks 33rd nationally. Senior Kyle Davidson leads the Flyers on the base paths with a career-high 19 stolen bases (t-2nd A-10) on the season. Senior Lisa Tassi has stolen a career-high 16 bases (t-5th A-10), also a career high, while sophomore Briley Sidor has collected nine stolen bases (t-12th A-10). With her 41 career stolen bases, Davidson ranks fifth all-time in the Dayton record book.

Walk This Way
Junior Ellie Ziegler has taken a team- and career-high 15 bases on balls this season. Senior Kyle Davidson has drawn 13 walks and sophomore Abby Ehrenborg has tallied 12.

Celebrating 40 Seasons
Dayton is celebrating 40 seasons of softball in 2019. The program was started in 1980 and the Flyers have tallied an overall record of 689-972-8 (.415) over the last 40 years. This weekend, the team is welcoming back former Flyer coaches, players and program supports for a 40-year celebration on Saturday.

She's A "Hit"ter
Senior Kyle Davidson has tallied 180 career hits and is currently in seventh place in the Dayton record book. Former Flyer Gabrielle Snyder (2014-17) holds the record with 222 hits.

So Offensive
Three Flyers are currently hitting above .300 and their combined number of hits account for 44 percent of the team's total hits.
Lisa Tassi: .375, 54
Abby Ehrenborg: .356, 48
Kyle Davidson: .355, 50

Start Me Up
Senior Kyle Davidson has made 159 consecutive appearances in the Flyers' starting lineup. During her career at UD, Davidson has started in 181 of the 190 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 292 wins at UD. Notable - coach LaPlaca currently has 423 career wins as a head coach.

She's Got CLASS
Senior Kyle Davidson was named one of 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.