March 30, 2005

Box Score | Photo Gallery

DAYTON, Ohio - Down by 14 runs midway through the third, Dayton came back to beat Butler 21-17 in non-conference baseball action at Time Warner Cable Stadium on Wednesday.

The Flyers (16-7) have now won 11 of their last 13 games while Butler fell to 4-14 on the year.

Despite being out hit 17 to 16, all but four of the 12 UD positional players who appeared had at least one hit. Four Flyers had multiple-hit games including three-hit days by Bobby Getty, Michael Massa and Bryan Chandler. Getty was 3-for-6 with three RBI, five runs scored and was just a single shy of a cycle. Massa finished 3-for-4 with a double, home run, walk, hit by pitch, three runs scored and two RBI. Chandler was 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and three RBI.

Kevin Miller also came off the bench to post a 2-for-3 day including a double, run scored and an RBI.

Ten of UD's 16 hits were for extra bases as Brandon Godzik added a double to go along with home runs by William Benoit and Michael DeLuca.

Nick Ferralli also came off the bench to post two runs scored and a pair of RBI.

After Drew Chesebro, John Baird and Mark Eger combined to pitch the first four innings for the Flyers, freshman Jeff Mercer came on to throw three innings of solid relief. He allowed just three runs on two hits while striking out five in first collegiate appearance.

Luke Trubee and Craig Stammen then closed the door on the Bulldogs with an inning each from the bullpen. They each allowed one hit and recorded a strikeout. Trubee was credited with the win and improved to 6-1 on the year.

The Bulldogs jumped on the Flyers early with four runs in the first and 10 in the third to take a 14-0 lead. However, the first three frames would account for nearly all of Butler's offense on the day as Mercer and the rest of the UD pitching staff settled down to allow just four hits the rest of the way.

Dayton got on the board in the bottom of the third with a solo home run to left center by Massa.

The Flyers kept things rolling in the fourth with a two-RBI double by Chandler. Rohren followed with an RBI groundout and Chandler scored on a wild pitch to cut the Butler lead to 14-5 after four innings.

BU took a 17-5 lead in the seventh on a three-run homer to right center, but UD answered with 10 runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to pull within two at 17-15. The Flyers sent 13 batters to the plate and with four hits and the benefit of four batters hit by pitch. The four hit batters tied the third most ever in NCAA Division I history in a single-inning and the seven overall in the game were the fourth highest total in a game.

Dayton then completed its comeback in the eighth with six runs on six hits. After the first batter of the inning was retired, Benoit and DeLuca followed with solo and two-run homers respectively. Then with two outs Massa doubled off the centerfield wall followed by an RBI single through the left side by Ferralli. Getty joined in with a triple to center to send home Ferralli. Miller finished the scoring with an RBI double left field to give UD a 21-17 victory.

The Flyers remain home as they host Rhode Island this weekend in a three-game Atlantic 10 Conference series. UD and URI will begin with a Saturday doubleheader at noon. The series will then conclude with a nine-inning game Sunday also at noon.