DAYTON – The University of Dayton's home opener at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium will be a four-game series, hosting Eastern Kentucky. The series begins with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 20, with single games on Feb. 21 and 22.
Friday's second game and Sunday's game will be live on ESPN+.
SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky is 2-2 on the season, defeating Northern Kentucky 16-11 on Tuesday afternoon after going 1-2 against Alabama State. Head coach Jan Weisberg is in his first season at Eastern Kentucky, having been hired in May 2025.
Silas Shaffer leads batting for the Colonels with a .400 batting average. Dylan Littlefield, a redshirt freshman, has eight RBI on the season. Jacob Price, who has two appearances and one start on the season, has a 0.00 ERA, striking out six batters in 4.1 innings pitched.
LAST MEETING
Dayton is 12-20-1 all-time against the Colonels. The FlyBoys won the most recent outing 7-6 last April.
Ryan MacDougall and Bobby Stang each had an RBI in the win, with MacDougall going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
NEW YEAR, NEW TALENT
With the first series of the season complete, many newcomers are having a big impact for the Flyers. Four position players made the starting lineup against Lipscomb, and two of the three starting pitchers are new to the program.
Sam Stem led the FlyBoys with a .400 batting average and a .538 on-base percentage. Niklas Pavia has a team-high 1.59 ERA, having pitched 5.2 innings against the Bisons and allowing one run and one hit.
FAMILIAR FLYBOYS
Dayton has 17 returners from the 2025 roster back on this season's roster, including three position players and one weekend starting pitcher.
Key returners include Martin Howell (junior catcher), Ryan MacDougall (junior catcher), Peyton Malecha (senior right-handed pitcher), Lukasz Rondeau (sophomore left-handed pitcher), Bobby Stang (redshirt junior infielder/outfielder) and Dyrenson Wouters (senior infielder). Jason Bello (sophomore infielder), who did not play last season, is also expected to be a significant contributor.
FAMILY TIES
The FlyBoys have two pairs of brothers on the 2026 roster.
Riley Cahill (junior right-handed pitcher) is joined by brother, Brandon Cahill (graduate right-handed pitcher), a transfer from Walsh. Ryan MacDougall (junior catcher) will play alongside his brother, Danny MacDougall (graduate infielder/outfielder), who transferred from Endicott.
DAYTON AT DAY AIR
UD and the Dayton Dragons announced on Tuesday that the FlyBoys will host Wright State at Day Air Ballpark on April 15.
This will be Dayton's sixth consecutive game at Day Air. 2023's game against the Raiders set an attendance record for the FlyBoys of 6,743 attendees.
UP NEXT
Dayton will face Toledo at home on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
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