June 18, 2007

DAYTON, Ohio - Junior College transfers Jake Hoover and Ryan Nevill have recently committed to join the University of Dayton baseball team for the 2008 season. Both players will have two years of eligibility remaining.

"Both of these players have the ability to help us towards our goal of winning an Atlantic 10 Championship," UD Head Coach Tony Vittorio said. "Jake will help us as both an outfielder and pitcher while Ryan will be in the mix to become our leadoff hitter."

Hoover, a 6-2, 185-pound outfielder/right handed pitcher, comes to Dayton from Neosho County Community College in Kansas. He hit .358 as a freshman and .339 as a sophomore while playing in 106 games combined. Hoover belted 15 home runs and collected 43 RBI in 2006 and followed with 14 doubles and 39 RBI in 2007. He also pitched 98.1 innings over the past two seasons with a 9-3 record and three saves. The Lawrence, KS native struck out 74 and walked only 44 while amassing a 4.30 ERA.

Nevill, a 6-0, 165-pound infielder, spent the past two seasons at Lake Land Community College in Illinois after graduating from North Vigo High School in Terre Haute, IN. He played in 75 games at Lake Land CC and collected 65 hits including 21 for extra-bases. Nevill hit .258 with seven doubles, a triple, a home run and 18 RBI. He added eight doubles, a triple and three homers while collecting 16 RBI and a .306 batting average in 2007.

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.