In-Season Look at UD’s Softball Team
Logan Miller | Contributing Writer
At 27–16 overall, (15–5 Atlantic 10), the Dayton Flyers softball team is finding its rhythm, sitting in second place as they prepare for their final regular season series against George Mason and looking to secure a first-round bye in the A-10 tournament.
“Obviously the goal every single season is to peak in May, and I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” said senior center fielder Emma Schutter. “I’m excited to see how we handle our next series.”
Schutter credits last year’s championship experience and the energy of the freshman class for helping shape this year’s success. “Having that good foundation, the experience, knowing what it’s like and then also having a bunch of freshmen who are willing to learn and be flexible, they’re killing it.”
The Flyers have been strong at home (7–2) and have improved their road performance throughout the season.
“As we have gotten into conference play, we’ve traveled well. Kudos to Flyer faithful, we get a bunch of people out there supporting us,” Schutter said.
Schutter, a key piece of the team’s offense, is batting .394 and has 28 stolen bases. “Just locking in and trying to make an impact every single at-bat is my goal,” she said. “Just sticking to our process and trusting what I’ve done so far to prepare me to get to this point has helped me accomplish what I have and support my team.”
Defensively, Schutter helps lead a younger outfield unit.
“It’s a young outfield compared to what I have experienced in my four years,” she said. “We prepare for whatever offense we’re about to face defensively, we each have keywords that we’ll just kind of yell to each other.”
As the Flyers push toward another postseason run, maintaining focus and chemistry is key.
“The focus on our one goal, which is to win the Atlantic, it just unites the entire team,” Schutter said.
While confident in their approach, the team remains aware of areas to improve. Schutter said, “Things are kind of working and flowing the way they are, and I think if we try to change too much, that’s going to hurt us. We are trying not to overthink anything and continuing to trust the process, trust the coaches, trust each other.”
Reflecting on the team’s growth, Schutter pointed to learning from losses, including a tough midseason defeat to Ohio State.
“It’s not pretty, but it’s going happen. So just understanding that we can’t let it carry over and we’re going to learn and get better.”
With three games remaining in the regular season and the tournament around the corner, the Flyers are locked in. The A-10 Tournament is scheduled for May 7-10 at George Washington Softball Field in Washington, D.C. If the Flyers secure the No. 2 seed, their first tournament game will be played May 8 at 2:30 p.m.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Logan Miller produced this article as part of CMM 397: Flyer News Practicum, a course offered through the Department of Communication at the University of Dayton. In this class, students develop writing skills for journalism and public relations across media platforms, emphasizing clarity, accuracy, and effective information gathering. Miller used ChatGPT to help develop some interview questions.