DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team is set to travel to central Kentucky Thursday to take part in the Colonel Classic hosted by Eastern Kentucky. Dayton is slated to play five games over three days against Indiana State, Ohio and host EKU. Due to impending inclement weather in the area, the schedule of games has been modified and UD will play two games Thursday, one game Friday night and two games Saturday.

SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 2 | 4:30 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky
Thursday, March 2 | 7 p.m.	vs. Ohio
Friday, March 3 | 7:30 p.m.	vs. Indiana State
Saturday, March 4 | 10 a.m.	vs. Ohio
Saturday, March 4 | 12:30 p.m.	vs. Indiana State

ABOUT DAYTON
Dayton (5-5) heads into the Colonel Classic after taking a week off from action. The Flyers went 2-3 at the Auburn Tiger Invitational Feb. 17-19 with wins over Austin Peay and Villanova. UD's offense is led by 2022 A-10 Rookie of the Year Emma Schutter with a .438 batting average (3rd A-10), 14 hits (4th A-10) and eight runs scored (4th A-10) while grad student Alyssa Cacini has knocked out two home runs (t-1st A-10) and knocked in 10 runs (2nd A-10). In the circle, freshman Izzy Kemp leads the Atlantic 10 with a .172 ERA and ranks second in the league with 42 strikeouts.

SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky (10-5) has had a solid start to the season, including a 3-2 outing at UNCW's Tournament Feb. 24-26. The Colonels are led by redshirt junior Vianna Barron who carried a team-best .432 average at the plate to go with 22 hits, 18 RBI, 17 runs scored and four home runs. Freshman Brooke Davis (3-1) leads the EKU pitching corps with a 3.20 ERA while sophomore Lauren Narvaez (4-3) has tallied five complete games over 50.2 innings pitched.

SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio (3-9) is coming off a 1-3 weekend at Campbell's Camel Stampede last weekend featuring a 3-0 win over Rider Friday morning. Freshman Belle Hummel paces the Bobcats with a .389 average to go with 14 hits and six runs scored while junior Annalia Paoli has collected 11 RBI and sent three balls over the fence. OU sophomore Skipp Miller (2-3) holds the team's low ERA of 2.10 and has tallied 24 strikeouts in the circle.

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
Indiana State (5-5) is also an even .500 on the season after spending this past weekend at the Easton Bama Bash hosted by Alabama, picking up two wins over Kennesaw State. The Sycamores have two players hitting over .400 including junior Isabella Henning (.467) who leads the team with 14 hits and six runs scored. Senior pitcher Lexi Benko has allowed four earned runs over 25.2 innings of work for a team-low ERA of 1.09 to go with 24 strikeouts.

SERIES STUFF
Eastern Kentucky: EKU leads, 21-17; Last 4/28/21
Indiana State: ISU leads, 9-1; Last 2/15/19
Ohio: OU leads, 20-7; Last 2/26/22

RPI RANKINGS
In the NCAA's final Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2022 season, Dayton came in at 198 according to NCAA.com. Opponents: Eastern Kentucky 248, Indiana State 182, Ohio 154.

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