DAYTON - The University of Dayton baseball team opens the 2024 Atlantic 10 season this weekend at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium, welcoming the Fordham Rams to the Gem City for a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 29 at 4 p.m.

CONFERENCE PLAY IS COMING
- Dayton has seen success in the Atlantic 10 since head coach Jayson King took over before the 2018 season. The FlyBoys have a record of 63-49 (.565 winning percentage) in conference play in that time and have finished as high as second place in the regular season once and third place twice. UD has played for two A-10 Tournament championships under King, falling to Fordham in 2019 and VCU in 2022.
- The Flyers were picked to finish sixth in the 2024 A-10 Preseason Poll, while Fordham was picked 10th. 

WELCOME TO SPLITSVILLE
- Dayton split its four-game series at Butler this weekend, taking both games of a doubleheader on Saturday before falling in both games of a doubleheader on Sunday. The Flyers averaged 9.25 runs per game over the weekend, with sophomore Eddie Yamin IV's performance standing above the rest.

YAMIN HEATING UP
- First baseman Eddie Yamin IV had a weekend to remember at Butler,  hitting .571 (8-of-14) with two home runs, two doubles, eight runs scored, and six RBI. The West Sand Lake, N.Y. native moved into first on the team in home runs, now with six on the season, and also jumped to the top of the Atlantic 10 in RBI with 28 on the campaign.

FENNELL AND FORTES - DYNAMIC DUO
- The combination of freshman Connor Fennell and junior Michael Fortes was formidable in UD's 8-2 win over Butler this weekend, as the two combined for 11 strikeouts and just one walk in the contest.
- Fennell picked up his second win of the season by throwing a career-best 6.1 innings, scattering seven hits and allowing two runs while recording a career-best eight strikeouts. Fortes tossed the final 2.2 innings and allowed just two hits while striking out three.

MADE FOR MARCH
- While many eyes are focused on postseason basketball, the FlyBoys have started to heat up on the diamond as well. Dayton has won 12 of 17 games this month, including series wins over High Point, South Dakota State, and Eastern Illinois. 

BACK TO DAY AIR
- The FlyBoys return to DayAir Ballpark for a midweek matchup with Eastern Kentucky Tuesday, April 23. UD has set a new attendance record each of the last two seasons when moving its home field to downtown Dayton, beating Ohio State in 2022 in front of 3,859, and taking down cross-town rival Wright State last season in front of 6,743.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
- Fordham is 8-16 overall this season, most recently coming out on the short end of a three-game series with St. John's and dropping a midweek game to Stony Brook. 
- The Rams are hitting .238 as a team this season and reaches base at a .344 clip. They are led by two regulars hitting over .300 - Ryan Thiesse and Nico Boza. Thiesse has started and played all 24 games for Fordham this season, leading the team with 28 hits and reaching base at a .429 rate. Boza has played 17 games this season, slugging three home runs and turning in an OPS of .951.
- Fordham's pitching turns in a 8.46 ERA on the season, allowing opponents to hit .294 against them. Declan Lavelle is the Friday night starter, turning in a 2-3 record and 3.94 ERA in six starts this season. Connor Haywood leads the team in appearances (12) and has a team-best two saves, whiel Saturday starter Koen Smith has a 5.14 ERA in nine appearances (three starts) this season.
    
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