Baseball bounces back to win 7 of 11

The UD baseball team used Easter break to improve its record and challenge some Atlantic 10 foes.

It was a successful stretch for the Flyers, as they went 6-4 over their last ten games.

After being dominated 8-1 versus nationally-ranked Notre Dame, the Flyers got hot, winning five of their next six contests.

The first win came April 5 over the Wittenberg Tigers 9-8. Trailing by two going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Dayton capped off a comeback with junior outfielder Andy Boehmer’s bases-loaded single to earn Dayton’s twelfth win.

The team then traveled to New York to face A-10 rival Fordham for three games. It was a successful trip, as UD took two out of three games.

The first two games were part of a doubleheader April 7. The Flyers won 4-0, but the highlight of the game was the performance of junior starting pitcher Mike Rolih. His first A-10 victory with the Flyers included allowing only two hits in a complete game effort. He also struck out four and allowed no walks to Ram hitters.

Junior infielder Aaron Reesh went 2-for-4 at the plate, and junior designated hitter Shawn Bolinger had two hits to up his average to .391.

In game two, the Rams came out and reversed the roles, as they shut out the Flyers 5-0. Ram starter Gary Kaible matched Rolih’s complete game effort and only allowed one Flyer hit.

The next day, Dayton finished its series with Fordham with another 4-0 win.

Junior starting pitcher Corey Allen pitched UD’s second shutout in three games. He earned his second win of the year by striking out seven Fordham hitters and allowing only five hits.

Allen’s performance, along with the shutout by Rolih the day before, earned both men co-Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week honors.

The Flyers stayed on the road for their next games. Indianapolis was the destination, as the Flyers swept an April 10 doubleheader over the IUPUI Jaguars 10-6 and 3-1.

Dayton erased an early IUPUI lead in the first game, turning a 1-0 deficit after two innings into a 10-3 lead halfway through the sixth inning.

Junior outfielder Brooks Vogel went 2-for-4, scoring two runs. The offensive hero of the day was senior outfielder Mark Schulte, who went 3-for-4, scoring two runs and knocking in four Flyers.

The second game was not the slugfest the first game was, as Dayton out-pitched IUPUI and won 3-1. Again, IUPUI took an early lead, but Dayton answered with a runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

Reesh hit a homerun off Jaguar pitching, scoring two of the Flyers’ three runs. Junior catcher Mark Wahl went 2-for-3, knocking in one run.

Dayton benefited from good starting pitching again, as junior starting pitcher Sam Fischer struck out 10 hitters in a complete game effort.

After a cancelled game versus Ohio April 11, the Flyers took to the road again—this time to visit another A-10 rival, George Washington. Coming into the series on a roll did not help, as they lost two of three to the Colonials.

The first two games were a twin bill Saturday, where George Washington won the first game 7-3, but Dayton won the second contest 3-2.

In game one, the Colonials’ Jake Wald and Matt Krimmel both hit homeruns off Rolih in the second inning, which capped off an early charge and gave the Colonials a 6-0 lead.

Wahl returned the favor in the top of the third inning, rallying the Flyers back to only a 6-3 deficit. That was as close as the Flyers could get however as the Colonials shut the door and won 7-3.

The second game was much tighter, as both teams could not dent the plate in the first five innings. GW decided to intentionally walk senior outfielder Brent Berigan after walking Vogel to lead off the sixth inning, in order to face junior pitcher Mike Kerins. That strategy proved to be a costly mistake, as Kerins hit his second home run of the year to put Dayton in front 3-0.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Colonials threatened to steal the victory after scoring two runs and having two runners in scoring position, but Kerins got Nick Iovacchnini to fly out to center to seal the Flyers’ 3-2 victory.

Sunday, the rubber game of the series went to GW 11-3.

The Colonials roughed up Dayton pitching for seven runs in the first five innings, before the Flyers could answer with two runs in the sixth inning. That was as close as they could come, as the Colonials scored four more runs in the late innings to win handily.

The brightest spot for Dayton came in the top of the ninth when Vogel hit a solo homer, his first of the season and 38^th at UD, tying the career mark of Brian Harlamert who played for UD from 1991-94.

Dayton was to play at Miami Tuesday, but snow cancelled the game.

These games put the Flyers’ record at 17-18 with a 5-4 A-10 record.

Another A-10 foe is on deck for UD, as Duquesne comes to Stuart Field for a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon.

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www.FlyerNews.com
By: Matt Hager