DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team will open Atlantic 10 Conference play this week with three games at Rhode Island. The series, originally scheduled for March 12-13, will be played at the Rams' URI Softball Complex March 16-17.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island (4-11) was last in action at the Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Florida, and the Rams went 1-4 with a 6-4 win over Georgetown on March 5. URI's offense is led by Sami Villarreal with a .318 average and 14 hits while the Ram's pitching corps is paced by Liz Lynchard (3-6) with a 3.55 ERA over 51.1 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts.

ABOUT DAYTON
Dayton (4-11) had a 3-2 weekend at the Purple & Gold Challenge hosted by Lipscomb in Nashville March 4-6 and the Flyers closed out the Challenge with a 1-0 win over College of Charleston. Junior Ali Weekley carries the team's best batting average of .304 while freshman Emma Schutter has collected a team-high 12 hits and is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases. In the circle, senior Kelsey Gumm (0-4) leads the team with a 2.97 ERA and 36 strikeouts.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads, 30-20-1
First Meeting: 4/26/96 - Rhode Island 5, Dayton 1 & Rhode Island 7, Dayton 1
Last Meeting: 3/29/19 - Dayton 1, Rhode Island 0

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