April 13, 2011
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – In what appeared to be a pitching duel through six innings of a 1-1 tie at Bowling Green State, Dayton broke the game open with five runs in the seventh and seven runs in the eighth to defeat the Falcons, 13-2, at Warren Steller Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Dayton (18-16) won its fourth consecutive game to improve to two games over .500 for the first time this season. Bowling Green falls to 11-18.
The Flyers set a team season-high for hits in a game with 20, while holding the Falcons to six hits. It is the first 20-hit game for the Flyers since May 8, 2010 against UMass. Six of the nine batters in Dayton’s starting lineup had multi-hit games and all but one starter got at least one hit.
Junior Brian Blasik finished the day 4-for-5 with one run scored and two RBI. Blasik tied his career-high of four hits in a game for the fifth time and second time since last weekend at UMass. In 19 games played, Blasik has two hitting streaks - 11 games and his current of seven games.
Senior Jonathan Castine went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI, which included his team-leading fifth homerun of the season.
Backup catcher Josh Jeffery started for the second consecutive game behind the plate. Jeffery recorded his first hit of the season – a two-RBI single – which drove in the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Junior Burny Mitchem (2-2) pitched a perfect 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts to earn the win.
Blasik led off the game with a single to left field, which extended his hitting streak to seven games. Later in the inning with two outs, C.J. Gillman hit a standup double in the right field gap to put a runner in scoring position for Castine. Castine used a soft liner to left field which drove in Gillman from second for the first run of the game, 1-0.
In the bottom of the inning, BGSU’s Frank Berry reached on a UD fielding error at second base and eventually scored to tie the game at one. Berry was advanced home in on a bases-loaded 4-6-3 double play.
No runs would be scored until the seventh inning as Bowling Green starter Matt Malewitz (1-1) retired 11 consecutive batters and Dayton pitching allowed only two hits from the second inning through the eighth inning. Bryce Lahrman started on the mound for UD and left a tie game after four innings with three strikeouts and two hits.
In Dayton’s five-run seventh inning junior Zach Stewart drew a walk to lead off, followed by a single to center field from junior C.J. Gillman. Castine used a sacrifice bunt to advanced runners to second and third, which led to a Bowling Green pitching change. Ben Singer entered the game for Malewitz after 6 1/3 innings. Jeffery made the most out of his first hit of the season by driving in the two go-ahead runs on a single to right field. Stewart and Gillman scored on the play to give UD a 3-1 lead.
Senior Jimmy Roesinger continued to put pressure on the Falcons in the seventh after registering a single to right field which put runners at the corners. Freshman Mel Skochdopole bunted for a single to drive in Jeffery from third. Glover walked to load the bases, which prompted another pitching change for BGSU – Ross Gerdeman. Blasik singled through the left side to drive in two runs and give Dayton a 6-1 lead. Stewart, the inning’s leadoff batter, represented the 10th trip to the plate for UD and reached base for the second time in the seventh on an infield single to shortstop. Dayton scored five runs on six hits to take a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning.
Mitchem took to the mound in the bottom half and retired the Falcons in order with two strikeouts and a ground out. Mitchem entered the game in relief of sophomore Trent Haughn who left after retired one batter in the sixth inning due to an apparent arm injury.
In the eighth, Dayton piled on seven more runs on eight hits. Castine led off the inning with his team-leading fifth homerun of the season. Roesinger then singled through the left side and advanced to second on a balk. Skochdople drove in fellow Indianapolis native, Roesinger, on a perfectly executed hit-and-run play – a single through the left side.
Sophomore Ian Hundley prompted another BGSU pitching change after singling through the right side to put runners at the corners with one out. Glover then drove in the two runs on a single down the left field line, but was retired on the next play attempting to steal second. Blasik doubled for his fourth hit of the day and a hard line drive up the middle by Stewart scored him from second. After Gillman walked, the Flyers hit through batting order for the second consecutive inning with Castine due up. The Farmington, Mich., native drove in another two runs on a two-out double deep to right field, his second and third RBI of the inning. Jeffery flied out to right to end a 7-run eighth inning.
Junior Tim Lynn pitched the last two innings of the game for the Flyers – his longest outing of the season. Lynn surrendered just three hits and one run with a strikeout. Bowling Green scored one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Falcons had three straight singles to load the bases, followed by a RBI sacrifice fly from Alex Davison.
The Flyers return to Time Warner Cable Stadium this weekend in a three-game conference series with Richmond. The series begins on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
