Dayton Flyers

DAYTON, Ohio - University of Dayton baseball coach Tony Vittorio faced a crucial decision over the summer. How would he replace veteran catcher Scott Dunwoody, a Johnny Bench Award Watch List member, and an All-Atlantic 10 and Academic All-Atlantic 10 Performer?

Vittorio had a number of options. It was there, that he drew on the experience of a junior-college transfer to bolster a young, but talented crop of catchers on the team.

“One of the hardest things for us has been replacing Scott Dunwoody. He was durable and smart behind the plate,” said Vittorio. “I think we have done a good job replacing him with Danny Welch.”

Welch has the numbers to back up his play. He played for Central Arizona College last spring and hit .337 for the Vaqueros. He also posted 18 RBI and 10 doubles, while backstopping the team to their eighth NJCAA Region I championship in 11 years.  Welch also represented Team Canada in the Enbridge Northern Gateway World Baseball Challenge, hitting .297 through four games with four RBI and one double.

“We are really excited about Danny. He is a great catch-and-throw player and he is a great kid,” said Vittorio.

Sophomore Josh Jeffery joins Welch in catching duties. Last season Jeffery had limited catching time behind Dunwoody, but used the year to learn from the senior and UD’s catching coach Terry Bell. He played in nine games last season for the Flyers. He was a three-time all-conference selection while attending Anderson High School in Cincinnati.

“Josh has great passion and energy for the game. He has really developed,” said Vittorio. “He is getting better offensively, and we are excited about him competing for that spot and getting time in behind the plate.”

Redshirt sophomore Aaron Pfeffenberger and redshirt senior Drew Fumagalli are expected to add depth to the talented catching core. Pfeffenberger played in two games last season after redshirting his freshman year. In high school, he was an All-Northwest District selection, hitting .429 with 25 RBI in his senior campaign.

Fumagalli joins the team after playing football for Dayton his entire collegiate career, and serving as a team captain his senior year. A two-sport star in high school, Fumagalli has stayed fresh, playing for the LaGrange Titans back home during the summer. Before coming to UD, he was a team captain for Neuqua Valley and a two-time All-Upstate Eight selection.

The Flyers open their season on Feb. 19 against the Army Black Knights in Winston-Salem, N.C. Dayton will then face Wake Forest on Saturday and Sunday.