DAYTON – The University of Dayton baseball team will continue the Atlantic 10 schedule with a three-game series against Massachusetts over the weekend. The Flyers will take on the Minutemen at 3 p.m. on Friday at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium to open the series. The two will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m. before finishing on Sunday at noon.
 
All three games will feature live stats as well as radio broadcasts courtesy of Gem City Sports Network.
 
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers will enter the weekend with a 15-18 record after splitting a pair of midweek contests against Wright State and Butler. Dayton snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Raiders with a 9-3 win over Wright State at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium on Tuesday, but fell at Butler 7-2 on Wednesday.
 
This series marks the fourth of eight conference matchups for Dayton. The Flyers are 3-6 through nine games against Rhode Island, George Washington, and Fordham. This series with UMass will wrap up the first half of the A-10 schedule.
 
Through the first 33 games of the season, Dayton has only played six home games, and just five at Woerner Field. The Flyers will finish by playing 11 of their final 18 games in Dayton.
 
Junior Keagan Calero leads the Flyers with a .275 batting average in 31 games. Calero hit .417 last week in four games against Ohio State and Fordham. His eight stolen bases, 24 runs scored, and 19 walks also lead Dayton.
 
Senior Marcos Pujols and graduate student Henry Strmecki have been the main sources of power this season. Pujols leads the team with seven home runs and 22 RBIs. Strmecki paces the Flyers with eight doubles and ranks second with six home runs.
 
Junior Ryan Steinhauer is coming off the first complete game since Hunter Wolfe on Feb. 23, 2019 against Seton Hall. Steinhauer's game against Fordham saw the Rams score in just one inning and reach base in three. Six of his nine innings were 1-2-3 innings and his 10 strikeouts were the second most he's had this season.
 
Junior Mark Manfredi leads all Flyers who have started multiple games with a 3.93 ERA in five starts this season. He also ranks second behind Steinhauer with 43 strikeouts in 34 innings this season. Graduate student Kenny Serwa is also coming off a strong start against Ohio State. Against the Buckeyes on April 12, he allowed just four hits in seven scoreless innings, striking out 11, tied for the most by any Dayton pitcher this season.
 
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
Massachusetts enters the weekend with a 17-13-1 record, also splitting their two midweek games against UConn and Sacred Heart. The Minutemen fell 28-11 at Connecticut on Tuesday and won at home against Sacred Heart on Wednesday 7-4.
 
The Minutemen were picked to finish 11^th of 12 teams in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, but have started the A-10 season 6-3 with series wins over Fordham and Saint Joseph's. Like Dayton, UMass dropped two of three against Rhode Island over the weekend.
 
Matt Reynolds was named the head coach of Massachusetts ahead of the 2018 season. He led the Minutemen to 18 wins in 2019, with this year's team just one win away from matching that total and two wins away from his winningest season at UMass.
 
Cole Hebble leads the A-10 with a .419 batting average in 30 games this season. His 15 doubles also ranks second in the conference and his 22 RBIs is the third most on the Minutemen. Nolan Tichy and Will MacLean have each started 19 games and are both hitting .360 on the season. MacLean is tied for second with four home runs, behind Drew DeMartino. DeMartino is hittng .272 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.
 
On the mound, Jack Pawloski and Zach Clevenger each lead the team with three saves this season in 10 appearances. Pawloski also leads the Minutemen with a 1.54 ERA and is holding opponents to a .171 batting average. Kevin Dow's 33 strikeouts are the most on UMass. Dow is 6-1 this season in seven starts spanning 39 innings.
 
MATCHUP HISTORY
These will be the 42^nd, 43^rd, and 44^th games between these two teams, with Dayton holding a slight 21-20 advantage over the Minutemen. The two teams last met for a three-game series in Dayton in 2019. The Flyers took both games of a doubleheader on March 29, 2019 to open the series, but UMass won the most recent game on March 31, 2019. Connor Echols picked up a pair of hits and scored a run in that loss.