DAYTON - The University of Dayton softball team will close out the home portion of its 2024 schedule this weekend with a three-game Atlantic 10 series against Rhode Island. The Flyers and Rams will play two games Saturday followed by a single game Sunday with a 12 p.m. start time both days. The series will be played at UD Softball Stadium and admission is free.

Both games on Saturday will be streamed via ESPN+ while all three contests will be available to follow via live stats at Statbroadcast.com.

ABOUT DAYTON
Dayton (26-17, 15-5 A-10) swept its mid-week Atlantic 10 doubleheader Wednesday, claiming two wins over St. Bonaventure at UD Softball Stadium. The Flyers are currently enjoying a season-best eight-game winning streak and are in first place in A-10 standings heading into the weekend. Junior Maddie Kapsimalis (.364) leads the team on offense with 48 hits, 41 RBI, 23 walks and eight home runs. In the circle, graduate student Sarah Bailitz (7-6) carries the team's low ERA of 1.95 while sophomore Izzy Kemp has tallied a team-high 97 strikeouts.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island (13-33, 8-12 A-10) also had an A-10 doubleheader on Wednesday, splitting the pair of games with visiting Massachusetts. The Rams have won five of their last seven games. URI's offense is paced by Kylie Bulinski (.302) with 38 hits and 18 walks and Elena Gonzalez (.287) with 37 hits, nine doubles, 18 RBI and 17 walks. Ashley Hibbard (5-5) leads the Rams' pitching corps with a 3.22 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 87.0 innings of work.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads, 37-21-1
The Flyers have won six straight and 11 of the last 12 meetings in the all-time series between UD and URI. The pair squared off five times last season, including twice in the 2023 A-10 Championship as Dayton eliminated Rhode Island, 6-0, on the second day of the tournament.

RPI RANKINGS
In the NCAA's Rating Percentage Index (RPI) through games on April 25, Dayton came in at 136 according to NCAA.com. Rhode Island was ranked 271.

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