May 30, 2007

DAYTON, Ohio - Eighth-year Head Coach Tony Vittorio announced the 2007 Flyer baseball team award winners on Wednesday as voted upon by the players and coaching staff. Senior Michael Massa was named the team's Most Valuable Position Player. Classmate Chris Rubio garnered Most Valuable Pitcher honors. Redshirt sophomore Myles Swartzel earned Most Improved Player honors while freshman Jimmy Roesinger was named Best Practice Player.

Massa closed out his Flyer career as Dayton's all-time leader in career runs scored (203), at bats (842), triples (20) and stolen bases (63) while ranking second in base hits (268). He was also among the top five all-time in walks (88), times hit by pitch (30) and games played (218). In his senior season, Massa hit .299 while starting all but one game as the team's shortstop and leadoff batter. He led the Flyers with 48 runs scored, eight triples and 16 stolen bases while being hit by pitch 12 times, which ranked second on the squad. Massa added 11 doubles, three homers and 27 RBI.

Rubio led the Dayton pitching staff in strikeouts (62) and innings pitched (99.2) in 2007 while amassing a 6-7 record in 14 starts. He held a 2.30 strikeout-to-walk ratio and limited the opposition to a .268 batting average against him. Rubio had a 4.52 ERA and allowed three runs or less in 10 of his 17 appearances overall. He performed at his best against top competition as he struck out six batters in 7.2 innings pitched against Notre Dame and allowed just two runs while fanning five in 7.2 innings pitched at #23 Charlotte.

Swartzel led the Flyers with a .352 batting average with 38 hits in 37 games played. He tallied 12 multi-hit games including eight against Atlantic 10 opponents. Swartzel added 14 runs scored and 14 RBI to go along with a .418 on base percentage. He recorded a pair of two-hit games against #23 Charlotte including two singles against 2007 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-America pick Adam Mills. The 2006 UD Practice Player of the Year had the best game of his Flyer career as he reached base four times while scoring a run and driving in four more in an 11-7 come-from-behind victory at Toledo on April 10.

Roesinger did not appear in any game action in 2007, but practiced and traveled with the team throughout the season. The freshman infielder looks forward to joining the Dayton lineup next season to build upon a career that saw him lead Indianapolis' Cathedral High School to the 2006 IHSAA State Finals and win the 2006 IHSAA L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award.

Dayton finished 21-33 overall and 9-18 in Atlantic 10 Conference play in 2007. The Flyers finished with their seventh 20-win season under the direction of eighth-year Head Coach Tony Vittorio. UD had 29 of its 54 games decided by two runs or less and went 11-18 in those games.