DAYTON – The University of Dayton baseball team will open the conference season with a three-game series this weekend against Rhode Island. The Flyers will play just their second home game of the season on Friday in the A-10 opener against the Rams at 3 p.m. at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium. The two teams will return on Saturday to play at 1 p.m. with the series finale coming on Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
All three games will feature live stats, an ESPN+ broadcast, and a radio broadcast courtesy of Gem City Sports Network.
 
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers will return to Woerner Field after playing 19 of the team's first 20 games on the road. They will enter the weekend with a 9-11 record in 2022 after taking one of three games from Tulane in New Orleans over the past weekend. Dayton dropped the opener 12-1 allowing 11 walks on the mound with junior Alex Neff pacing the team with two hits and a run scored offensively.
 
On Saturday, UD remained undefeated in extra innings with a 7-3 victory in 11 innings against the Green Wave. Senior Jay Curtis drove in a pair of runs to give Dayton an early lead. Junior Ben Jones drew a go-ahead walk in the top of the 11^th inning with the bases loaded and senior Marcos Pujols drove in three insurance runs with a bases-clearing single off the wall to secure a win for the Flyers.
 
Dayton dropped a close contest on Sunday, tying the game with two home runs from Neff and Pujols in the top of the ninth before falling 3-2 against Tulane.
 
Curtis leads the Flyers offensively with a .303 batting average and 23 hits so far in 2022. The Dayton catcher is one of two on the team to start every game for UD alongside junior Keagan Calero. The New Orleans native also leads the team with seven doubles and is one of four Flyers with double-digit RBIs.
 
Pujols is up to 14 RBIs this season and is second on the team with a .267 batting average to go with three home runs and 32 total bases, which leads the team. Neff has 11 RBIs and paces the Flyers with four home runs.
 
On the mound, junior Ryan Steinhauer has been a consistent part of the Dayton rotation, making five starts this season with a 4.15 ERA. In 21.2 innings, Steinhauer has 22 strikeouts which is the second-most on the team. Junior Mark Manfredi made his second start of the season and struck out seven for the third time this season, going six innings against the Green Wave. The lefty leads the Flyers with 25 strikeouts in just 17 innings.
 
The Flyers also feature a solid trio out of the bullpen who have each made at least seven appearances. Sophomore Eli Majick leads the team with a 1.69 ERA in nine appearances this season, which is tied for the most on the team. Majick is 2-0 across 10.2 innings this season. Junior Anthony Hattrup has also been strong, with opposing batters hitting just .175 against him in 17.1 innings. Sophomore Austin Brush has also been solid in his seven innings with a 2.57 ERA and a save so far in 2022.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Rhode Island enters the week at 3-19 this season, with one game on Wednesday against Northeastern in between for the Rams. Rhode Island has already played two SEC programs in Auburn and Tennessee and are coming off a 1-2 weekend against Connecticut, who was ranked 18^th at the time of the series.
 
On Friday, Rhode Island fell 19-2 before coming back to win 6-2 on Saturday behind a three-run home run by Anthony DePino. The Rams fell in the finale 4-1 to the Huskies.
 
The Rams were picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, one spot behind the Flyers after UD eliminated Rhode Island from the Atlantic 10 Championship last May. Head coach Raphael Cerrato is entering his eighth season at the helm of Rhode Island, with an NCAA Tournament appearance under his belt in 2016.
 
DePino has been Rhode Island's main force on offense, hitting .290 with eight home runs and 15 RBIs. Between March 13-18, he homered in four straight games and hit two against UConn on Saturday. He is tied with Jack Cucinotta with 20 hits, with Cucinotta second on the team with a .263 batting average. Eric Genther is the only Ram to appear in every game and ranks second on Rhode Island with 13 RBIs and first with six doubles.
 
Trystan Levesque is the only Rhode Island pitcher to make six starts this season and has 26 strikeouts in 28.1 innings on the mound. Domenic Picone paces the team with 34 strikeouts in five starts. Out of the bullpen, Broc French paces the Rams with a 2.89 ERA in nine appearances in 2022. French is 2-0 in 9.1 innings this season. Rhode Island's main closer has been Sean Sposato, with two saves in the team's three wins so far this season.
 
MATCHUP HISTORY
Friday's game will mark the 42^nd contest between these two opponents. Dayton is 16-25 all-time against Rhode Island, with Dayton taking the last meeting in the Atlantic 10 Championship last May. The Flyers won 3-1 in an elimination game against the Rams behind eight innings from R.J. Wagner. Wagner allowed just one run and struck out six in the win.