May. 1, 2005

Box Score

BRONX, NY - The University of Dayton softball team handed the first-place Fordham Rams their first Atlantic 10 loss of the season with a 4-2 win in game two, but the Flyers hopes for an A-10 tournament berth were dashed when Saint Joseph's won twice to take the fourth and final spot.

UD lost game one, 7-2, before rebounding for a 4-2 win in the nightcap.

Cassie Gross hit her ninth home run of the season in the first inning of game two, a two-run shot to left field.

In the third inning, Tamsyn Kellough and Gross hit back-tob-back RBI singles to take a 4-0 lead.

Fordham put together four hits for two runs, but Erin LaFayette eluded further damage.

Lafayette picked up the win with 6.1 innings pitched, two runs allowed on four hits. Melissa Myher came out of the pen with one out in the seventh and got the final two outs for her first save of the season.

Kellough and Gross were each two-for-four, while Shannon St. Clair walked twice and scored a run.

In game one, Fordham put together a three-run second inning, tacked on three in the third, and added another in the fourth as the Rams chased Myher after two innings.

In the fifth inning, Dayton scored two runs after Cortney Schafer was hit by pitch, Christine Eggers and St. Clair walked to load the bases, and Kellough's shot to shortstop was mishandled for a two-run error.

Ellie Malchow was two-for-three in the game.

Dayton finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 at 8-8, one game back of Saint Joseph's. The Hawks finish at 8-6 with a doubleheader against cross-town rival LaSalle cancelled in April. The Flyers have finished fifth or sixth in each of the past five season.

Dayton's last A-10 tournament appearance came in 2000.

The Flyers overall record moves to 19-18-1. Wright State will visit from nearby Fairborn, on Thursday for the 5:00 p.m. season finale.