DAYTON - The University of Dayton baseball team returns to action after another series victory over the weekend, traveling to Richmond, Ky. to take on Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, March 20 at 6 p.m. at Turkey Hughes Field at Earle Combs Stadium.

MENDEZ KEEPS MASHING
- Freshman David Mendez was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the second time this season, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon. Mendez is the first freshman in the conference to earn the award twice this season.
- Mendez had another tremendous week for the FlyBoys, hitting .579 with two home runs, a double, eight runs scored and eight RBI. The Aldie, Va. native had an OPS of 1.601 and was 3-for-3 in stolen bases. 
- The freshman had multi-hit performances in four-of-five games on the week, including three-hit games against Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois, where he also reached once via walk. In Dayton's 17-11 win over EIU, Mendez was on base six times (two hits, three walks, one HBP), scored four runs and drove in three. He is now hitting .481 on the season.
    
TWO-WIN, ONE-WEEKEND WISSMAN
- Senior relief ace Nick Wissman picked up a pair of wins over the weekend at Eastern Illinois, shutting down the Panthers over 5.2 innings of work, striking out five and walking only one.
- The Dayton native pitched two shutout innings in the opener on Friday, then came back Sunday to throw the final 3.2 in shutout fashion. Wissman's four wins has matched his career-high for a season that he set a season ago.

ROAD WARRIORS
- The FlyBoys nine-game road swing over an 11 day span has them playing in three different states (Illinois, Indiana and Ohio) before returning home to open Atlantic 10 play aganist Fordham.
- Dayton is 5-6 away from Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium this season, with three of those losses coming at the hands of then-No. 1 Wake Forest.
- Freshman David Mendez has been just as dangerous away from the friendly confines of Woerner Field, hitting .563 in eight games, reaching base at a .667 clip and slugging .813. Senior shortstop Carlos Castillo has also played well away from the Gem City, hitting .478 in five games with three doubles, a home run and eight RBI.

ISN'T IT GRAND?
- Junior Mason Dobie hit the Flyers' fourth grand slam of the season in Sunday's 17-11 comeback victory over Eastern Illinois. Dayton has not hit four grand slams in a season since at least the 2005 season (as far back as current records go).
- Freshman Ryan MacDougall hit the Flyers' third grand slam of the season against Bowling Green, highlighting a six-run first inning against the Falcons.
- The Flyers got TWO grand slams in the same game against High Point earlier in the season, one from senior Carlos Castillo and another from sophomore Eddie Yamin IV. 
- It marked the first time since at least 2005 that the Flyers hit two grand slams in the same game. It was the first grand slam of Castillo's career, while Yamin hit one as a freshman in 2023 against St. Bonaventure on May 11.

CASTILLO IS CRUSHING IT
- Senior Carlos Castillo had a great stretch for the FlyBoys last week, hitting .391/.652/.462 in UD's five games.
- The shortstop had hits in all five games, slugged a home run and three doubles, scored 10 times and drove in five. 
- Despite missing five games to injury, Castillo leads Dayton in hits (26), runs (21) and doubles (6), is second in average (.406) and OPS (1.120), and is third on the team in RBI (16).

AYDEN TRAN
- Freshman southpaw Ayden Tran gets the start at Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, and is coming off a strong relief performance over the weekend at Eastern Illinois.

DOBIE DELIVERS
- Junior Mason Dobie has been playing well of late, hitting .357 with a 1.224 OPS over the weekend at Eastern Illinois. Dobie hit two home runs, including his second career grand slam, drove in six and scored five himself. 

SCOUTING THE COLONELS
- Eastern Kentucky comes into Wednesday's midweek showdown with a record of 4-16 overall and 2-1 in the Atlantic Sun. 
- EKU is hitting .250 as a team on the season with an on-base percentage of .324.  Conner Davis leads the team in hitting with a .387 average and a 1.094 OPS. Tait Nunnally has posted a .253 average and leads the Colonels in both home runs (5) and RBI (18).
- EKU has a team ERA of 9.07 on the season and opponents are hitting .287. Wednesday's scheduled starter is left-hander Bradley Stewart, who has an 8.31 ERA on the season and an 0-1 record. Opponents are hitting just .071 in 4.1 innings against him this season.

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