DAYTON – The University of Dayton baseball team will open the 2022 campaign over the weekend at North Carolina A&T. The Flyers will open the series on Friday at 4 p.m. before returning for a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday with the Aggies. UD will finish the opening weekend with a 12 p.m. game on Sunday, with all three contests coming at World War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
 
All three games will include live stats and there will be a live stream available on Friday and Sunday with a paid subscription to ESPN+.
 
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers made it all the way to the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2021, finishing 24-27 overall, but 12-4 in conference play. Dayton was also picked second in this year's Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, earning one first place vote behind VCU. UD was also picked second by d1baseball.com and third by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
 
Senior Marcos Pujols returns for the Flyers after a performance last season that earned him both First and Second Team All-Conference honors, and to this season's Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List. The first baseman hit .346 last season with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs. Pujols was one of just four Flyers to play in every game last season.
 
Senior Jay Curtis is the other returning starter for Dayton, starting 41 games for the Flyers and serving as the team's primary catcher in 2021, ranking sixth in the A-10 with 294 putouts last season.
 
On the mound, Dayton returns graduate student Andrew Zapka and senior Bryce Hellgeth. The duo acted as main components in the Flyer bullpen with Zapka posting a 0.96 ERA in six appearances and Hellgeth ranking third on the team with 46 strikeouts in just 34 innings. Sophomore Parker Bard also returns after a season that saw him make the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
 
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
North Carolina A&T finished 22-32 last season, but won 13 of 20 games at home and finished 17-15 in the MEAC in 2021. The Aggies will join the Big South this season, where they were picked to finish 10^th of 11 teams in the Preseason Poll, just ahead of Longwood.
 
Head coach Ben Hall will enter his eighth season at North Carolina A&T and has one NCAA Tournament appearance under his belt, leading the Aggies to the 2018 MEAC Championship.
 
The Aggies will also feature a different lineup than last season, with Cameran Brantley the only returner who started a majority of games last year. The junior hit .277 in 2021 with five home runs and 24 RBIs while adding seven stolen bases.
 
Sophomore Alex Reyna and redshirt sophomore Xavier Bussey also saw playing time last season, with Reyna starting 24 games and finishing with only three errors in the field, and Busseymaking 16 starts and driving in seven runs for North Carolina A&T in 2021.
 
Derek Martinez returns as one of the more consistent faces on the mound for the Aggies a season ago, tossing 44.2 innings last season and making 11 starts. He struck out 45 hitters which was good for third on the team. Peyton Winebarger led the team in appearances with 25, pitching 32.1 innings and picking up 41 strikeouts. He made two starts and finished with a 3-2 record for NC A&T.
 
MATCHUP HISTORY
Friday's contest will mark the first ever matchup between the two schools.