Dayton Flyers

RICHMOND, Va. – Despite a third complete-game outing from a Dayton starting pitcher in as many days, the Flyers lost a chance to sweep Richmond on Sunday afternoon, 5-4.

Senior Burny Mitchem (2-6) threw his first complete-game of the season, striking out five and allowing two earned runs in 120 pitches. The Flyers out-hit the Spiders, 10-5, after recording eight hits or more for the 22nd consecutive game.

Senior Bobby Glover extended his hitting streak to 11 games after going 2-for-5 on Sunday. Glover scored the first run for Dayton after leading off the sixth inning with a double. The run – driven in by a Brian Blasik single – would tie the game at one.

Richmond responded with a four-run bottom half of the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. Two of the four runs were unearned on two hits and one Flyer error.

Dayton scored two runs in the seventh as senior Zach Stewart led off the inning with a single – one of his two hits on the day – and advanced to second on a fielding error in left field. Stewart would score on a RBI single from Jared Broughton in the next at-bat. Later in the inning Josh Jeffery, who subbed in during the seventh, scored on a double steal. Jeffery and Glover stole second and third, respectively, and Jeffery advanced home on a throwing error by the catcher on the play.

In the top of the ninth, UD trimmed its deficit to one run after Stewart reached base again to lead off the inning, this time on a UR fielding error. Stewart would come around to score the unearned run on a RBI single off the bat of Robby Sunderman. Richmond stopped UD’s rally in the ninth by turning a double play to end the game.

Richmond starter Andrew Blum (5-2) pitched six innings of one-run ball to receive the win. Alex Maffett earned his third save of the season after pitching the last three innings with two strikeouts with no earned runs.

The Flyers will take final exams this week before a three-game conference series at Temple next weekend in Philadelphia.

Notes
• Dayton is now 8-9 in one-run games this season.
• In the month of April, UD finishes 10-8 and 7-3 in conference play.
• Bobby Glover extended his hitting streak to 11 games, going 2-for-5 with a run scored on Sunday. Glover is already the owner of the A-10’s longest hitting streak of the season after starting the season on a 21-game tear.
• Entering the weekend, Phil Ruzbarsky had a conference-leading .370 average. Dayton held Ruzbarsky to one hit in 11 plate appearances this weekend.
• Dayton clinched its fourth consecutive conference series victory after winning the first two over Richmond.