Dayton Flyers

Jan. 11, 2005

PHILADELPHIA -  The 2005 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship will be held on May 25-28 at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, OH.

Home of the Dayton Dragons, the single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, Fifth Third Field opened in April 2000. It boasts a state-of-the-art video scoreboard that displays both animation and video footage and has a seating capacity of 7,230, along with general admission areas.

The Dragons led all Class-A organizations in attendance in each of the last five seasons and in 2004 were the recipients of the prestigious Bob Freitas Award, presented by Baseball America to the best Class-A organization in Minor League Baseball. In addition, they are the first organization to become a multiple winner of the PRISM Awards (Professionalism, Results, and Innovation in Sports Management) sponsored by The Sports Business Daily and presented annually by the University of Massachusetts to franchises at both the major and minor league levels that demonstrate excellence in five categories of sports franchise management: strategic mission, innovative marketing, community relations, customer service and employee relations.

"We are very pleased to be working with the Atlantic 10 on hosting their championship baseball tournament at Fifth Third Field," said Dayton Dragons president Robert Murphy. "The Dayton region has the best sports fans in the country and we are very excited to be able to showcase some of the best collegiate athletes right here in the Miami Valley."

The top two teams in the East and West Divisions and the next two teams with the highest winning percentage in Conference play will advance to the 27th Atlantic 10 Championship. St. Bonaventure seeks to defend its 2004 title, the first in program history, and will be led by sophomore RHP/DH Brian Pellegrini, a preseason All-America selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

The Dayton Flyers will be looking to return to the A-10 Championships in their hometown. UD appeared in the A-10 Championships in 2001 and 2002 as part of 32 win seasons under Head Coach Tony Vittorio.

"The A-10 has chosen a great site to host the postseason tournament in Dayton, Ohio," Vittorio said. "The community of Dayton loves collegiate athletics and has been supportive of baseball throughout the years. The combination of fan support and a great facility, run by the Dragons, should make for a great experience for all those involved."

For complete coverage of the 2005 A-10 Baseball Championship, including ticket information, log on to www.atlantic10.org and www.daytondragons.com.