March 14, 2008
DAYTON, Ohio -
Game Notes for Games 1-4
After winning four of their last five games and sweeping the Eastern Kentucky Invitational, the Dayton Flyers look to continue their momentum into the Orlando Rebel Games this weekend. The will face a host of teams in their region including Fairleigh Dickinson, Hartford, Wagner, Army, Columbia, Manhattan and Colgate.
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson plays in its first games of the year at the Rebel Games. Last season the Knights finished 7-30 with a 2-15 finish in the conference. Lindsay Glidden, a sophomore infielder collected five doubles and four home runs driving in 18. Senior pitcher Ashley Buchanen was 3-17 last season with 63 strikeouts and one save. Historically, the Flyers are 1-1 against the Knights.
ABOUT THE HAWKS
UD looks to even up the 0-1 series with Hartford in game two of the Rebel Games. Hartford is off to a 3-1 start this season thanks to the hot bat of sophomore Rachel Clonick. Through 11 games Clonick has hit .541 including two doubles, one home run and three RBI's. Sophomore Brittney Stratton is 2-0 this season pitching two shutouts and allowing zero runs.
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner College is off to an 0-4 start this season. In their last four contests, the Seahawks have only scored one run. However, they are led by senior infielder Katie Stevens who is hitting .333. On the defensive side of the ball freshman pitcher Heather Ochoa has an ERA of 6.18 and has struck out four. The Flyers are knotted 1-1 lifetime against the Seahawks.
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
The Army Black Knights trot in to the fourth ever meeting against Dayton carrying a 2-7 record this season. The Black Knights are led by Erin McClain, who has racked up 12 hits, five RBI's and one homer. Veronica Barth has seen the largest load of the pitching rotation with 38.2 innings pitched. She has struck out 20 and holds a 2.72 ERA through nine games. The Flyers are 2-1 against the Black Knights lifetime.
MATTHEWS NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
It is safe to say Laura Matthews has really come alive in her senior year. At the Eastern Kentucky University Invitational, Matthews racked up a .625 average going 5-of-8 and smacking two doubles and driving in three. For her efforts the Atlantic 10 awarded her Player of the Week honors on March 3. This is the first time a Flyer softball player has received this honors in over three years.
MEYER ONE OF A-10'S BEST
Atlantic 10 statistics show that Molly Meyer is one of the league's top hitters. Meyer is first in hits (18) among all of the A-10 teams. In addition, she is tied for second in runs with nine and ranks second in total bases with 24.
MY OH MEYER
Molly Meyer is one of the Atlantic 10's best hitters. As a leadoff hitter, Meyer has 18 hits in 40 at-bats for a season batting average of .450. Meyer has also collected a team-high 24 bases this season and has an on base percentage of .600. She went 3-of-4 inside the batter's box in her second game against North Dakota and 2-of-3 against South Dakota State University. Meyer also went 2-of-3 in back-to-back games at the Panther Invitational. Lifetime she is batting a whopping .368 at the plate.
MACI'S DAY PARADE
Sophomore slugger Anne Maci has been making a name for herself at the plate. On February 9 against North Dakota, Maci was 2-of-3, collected one double and drove in two runs. On the very next day, she went 2-of-3 again this time driving one runner in against the Fighting Sioux. In UD's win over Tennessee State, Maci was 3-of-4 and collected four RBI's. She has amassed 13 RBI's this season, shattering her career-best mark of five. In addition to breaking her best career mark, Maci is currently in second among all active A-10 players for runs batted in during a season.
GOING YARD
With her home run on February 24, Blair Crabtree has climbed all the way up to sixth all-time in UD history. Crabtree has seven career home runs, that mark ties her with Tami Roudebush.
SIXTEEN CANDLES
At the UNI Classic, Blair Crabtree went 2-for-3 in back-to-back games on her birthday February 9. She also collected one double, one RBI and crossed the plate twice. The icing on the cake was a .667 batting average on the day. Laura Matthews went 3-of-5 on her birthday March 2, smacking two doubles and tagging out the game-tying out to end the game against Appalachian State.
THE HITS KEEP COMING
Junior Mollie Schrank keeps piling up the hits for the Flyers. Schrank has 14 hits in 2008 moving her career total to 95 hits in 99 games.
"MOLL"ING IT OVER
In addition to her 95 career hits, Schrank has also placed herself third among all Flyers past and present in batting average. She is currently batting a lifetime average of .338. The Fairfield, Ohio junior will more than likely play her 100th game in March.
THE ZIONSVILLE CANNON
On Feb. 24, senior pitcher Erin Lafayette reached 100 career strikeouts. That total ties her for eighth place in Flyer history. Melissa Myher holds the all-time record for strikeouts in a career with 498. She has also pitched 240.1 innings, which places her 10th on UD's all-time list.
SEVEN KINDS OF SMOKE
While her 103 strikeouts are nothing to scoff at, Erin Lafayette is also one of the most efficient pitchers in Flyer history. LaFayette's has a current ratio of 3.01 strikeouts per 7 innings.
THAT'S A RAPPE!
Sophomore Eva Rappe knows a thing or two about sitting batters down. Last season Rappe collected 21 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. In 25.1 innings pitched this season, she has already sent nine batters back to the dugout with their heads hung, including four strikeouts against North Dakota on February 10.
SAVE-A-LOT
Eva Rappe can bring the heat, but lately she's been known best for icing batters at the end of a game. At the EKU Invitational Rappe stepped in and shut down the Eastern Kentucky offense collecting her first collegiate save. In the next game, she repeated her effort, this time keeping Cleveland State at-bay for her second straight save. Rappe's back-to-back saves give her the new record for saves in a single-season.
MUSIC CITY MASHER
Laura Matthews has quietly shot up the charts to lead the Atlantic 10 in batting average. Last season she had 13 hits in 32 games, but through 11 games this year Matthews has already cranked out 15 hits. Matthews is presently batting a blazing .484 at the plate.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Senior catcher Laura Matthews has been a force behind the plate for the Flyers. Matthews has already thrown five runners out that have dared to steal a base on her watch. This ties last year's mark of five runners thrown out in 32 games.
KICKIN' WITH KJ
Coming into the season, junior Katie Jordan had only played stepped up to the plate 15 times in her entire career with a batting average of .067. Jordan has already been at-bat 24 times, collecting one double, four runs and one RBI.
FEATS OF STRENGTH
Freshman Emily Stegeman is making an impact already in eight games played. Stegeman has six runs on four hits. However, more impressive are her two RBI's and two doubles that she has already amassed. Stegeman ranks third on the team with her runs. On the defensive side of the ball, Stegeman has made numerous acrobatic plays including a diving catch to end the inning against Eastern Kentucky and another leaping out to rob the Colonels of a sure base-hit.
COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
Sophomore Megan Lee has been a force in multiple games for the Flyers. Against North Dakota, Lee stepped in and hit a double bringing in two RBI's. Versus Tennessee State, Lee went 2-of-3 at the plate. Lee is batting .273 through nine games with one sacrifice.
TOP THREE, THE PLACE TO BE
Through 11 games there is one thing that the Flyers do know, they can hit the ball. In fact, among Atlantic 10 foes, they rank second in batting with a .299 average. In addition, UD has collected 18 doubles which ranks them third in the A-10. Dayton is averaging 1.6 doubles per game.
PARTY STARTERS
If there is one thing the Flyers have a knack for, it is getting on the scoreboard early. The Flyers are outscoring their opponent in the opening two frames 27-13. UD is also outscoring the opposition 17-1 in the first inning.
THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM
The beginning of the Flyers season on February 9 came 31 days earlier than last season. In that time, the Flyers will potentially play in 13 games, weather permitting of course. When the dust settles the Flyers will have potentially played in 21 contests before facing Atlantic 10 competition. Only two other A-10 teams started their season as early as UD this year.
BULS ON PARADE
Leah Buls collected her first win in an 8-3 downing of Cleveland State on March 2. She has pitched 11.1 innings and struck out three this season.
DAYTON "D" HAVING A FIELD DAY
Some say the best defense is a good offense, but what's so bad about a good defense as well? UD ranks second among A-10 teams in fielding with a .970 fielding percentage. The Flyers are fourth in the A-10 for allowing the fewest errors. In addition, the Flyers have caught five stealing already this season.
DAYTON PREDICTED TO FINISH TENTH IN ATLANTIC 10
A-10 Coaches have predicted that the University of Dayton Flyers softball team will finish tenth in Atlantic 10 play this season. This season 10 letter-winners return to the young Flyer squad.Rounding out the top six spots in the coaches poll are UMass, Fordham, Saint Louis, Charlotte, Temple and Saint Joseph's.
GOCKEN AMONG 2007 JUNIOR COLLEGE CATCHERS OF THE YEAR
Lyndsi Gocken was among 10 catchers named the 2007 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year. The award, presented by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Diamond Sports, is given to the top catcher from NFCA member schools. Gocken, a recent transfer from Joliet Junior College, was the recipient of the award for the National Junior College Athletics Association Division III level.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
UD will begin the season on a 25-game road swing taking them through two time zones and nine different states. In addition, the Flyers will play in five different tournaments before heading into conference play at Charlotte in March. Over the course of the season they are expected to log more than 10,000 miles on the road round-trip.
SOFTBALL INKS THREE
University of Dayton Softball signed three new faces during the early signing period. Brandy Brown, Raime Cronkhite and Kristina Ortiz will don the red and blue for UD next season.
Brandy Brown is a back-to-back All-County, All-Conference and All-District student-athlete in both 2006 and 2007. Cronkhite has helped her team to two City League Tournament Championships, as well as garnering All-District and All-Area Team honors in 2006 and 2007, and in her two previous seasons, Ortiz has been picked to the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section's Second Team. Also in 2007, Ortiz was named CIF Second Team All-Area. The three signings mark the beginning of Clark's first full recruiting class at Dayton.
