April 23, 2012

Gametracker (Game One) | Gametracker (Game Two)

ATHENS, Ohio - Following a successful weekend in which the Bobcats went 3-1 against Mid-American Conference foes, Ohio Softball prepares to host the University of Dayton in a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader. The first pitch of the opening game will be thrown at 2 p.m. at the Ohio Softball Field behind West Green.

Ohio earned a doubleheader sweep of Northern Illinois on Friday before splitting a Sunday series with the Western Michigan Broncos. With 12 games left to play in the regular season, the Bobcats own a 19-24 record which includes an 8-6 mark in MAC play.

A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD...
Be the 762nd win in program history
Be the 87th win of head coach Jodi Hermanek's career at Ohio
Be the ninth home win of the season
Be the 14th consecutive victory over the Flyers

PREVIEWING THE FLYERS
Dayton comes to Athens the owner of a 19-24 record which includes a 6-7 mark in Atlantic 10 games. The Flyers enter Tuesday's series on a hot streak, having won five of their last seven games. Dayton is a team which has the ability to start fast, as shown by the 25 runs scored by the Flyers in 2012 opening innings. When Dayton scores first, the team is 18-5. When the Flyers do not score first, they are 1-19 so far this season.

The Flyers have three student-athletes currently hitting above .300, as Brandy Brown (.352), Tiffany Ricks (.313), Kathleen Maloof (.306) and Alysha Isaacson (.303) are all having solid seasons from an offensive perspective. Maloof has proven her ability to hit home runs, as she has blasted seven this season.

Dayton's pitching staff has thus far generated an ERA of 4.09. Ohio will likely see Kayla English (9-7, 2.49 ERA) and Alysha Isaacson (3-10, 4.55 ERA) in the pitching circle on Tuesday afternoon.

Ohio holds a commanding 16-2 edge in the all-time series with the Flyers and last lost to Dayton on April 14, 1999.

STRIKING THEM OUT
Freshman pitcher Lauren McClary (Pasadena, Texas) had a very solid weekend in the pitching circle for Ohio. Striking out 22 batters through the four MAC games, McClary has pushed her season total to 164 Ks. Two more and she will match Emily Wethington's mark set last season, which ranks second all-time in program history.

SIXTH-INNING SHOOTOUTS
The sixth innings of Ohio Softball games this season have proved to be very exciting. A total of 91 runs (45 by Ohio, 46 by opponents) have been scored in the sixth innings of Bobcat games this season.

SEVEN IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Ohio has scored seven runs or more on 11 occasions this season. The Bobcats are 10-1 in these games.

GOING YARD
Ohio hitters have belted 24 home runs during the 2012 season. This single-season mark ranks third all-time in program history.  

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