PREVIEW: Dayton at Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (Interstat) — The Dayton Flyers visit the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish on Tuesday at Frank Eck Stadium in a nonconference matchup of teams with similar records. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. EDT under cloudy skies and a temperature of 58 degrees.

Dayton (28-22) enters on a two-game losing streak after dropping a 9-5 decision to George Mason on Sunday. The Flyers, who lost the series 2-1, have struggled to string together wins lately, going 4-6 in their last 10 games. Notre Dame (27-20) has won three straight and eight of its last 10, including a 9-3 victory over Oakland on Sunday to sweep that series.

Junior catcher Ryan MacDougall has been Dayton’s most consistent hitter. Over his last 10 games, MacDougall is batting .325 (13-for-40) with four home runs and 15 RBIs. He went 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs in Sunday’s loss and has driven in at least one run in seven of his past eight contests.

For Notre Dame, designated hitter Bino Watters has been on a tear. The sophomore is hitting .333 (10-for-30) over his last eight games with 11 RBIs. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Oakland on Sunday and has multiple hits in five of his last seven outings.

The Irish offense ranks among the Atlantic Coast Conference leaders in runs per game, while Dayton’s pitching staff has a collective 5.12 ERA. The Flyers will need strong outings from their bullpen, which showed promise Sunday with Riley Cahill tossing 1⅔ scoreless innings and Michael Fortes striking out three in 2⅓ innings of relief.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-6 victory for Notre Dame.

Dayton heads to George Washington for a three-game series beginning Thursday. Notre Dame travels to Pittsburgh for a three-game set starting the same day.