April 12, 2008

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - Cole Tyrell ripped a RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to cap a 5-4 come-from-behind Dayton victory over Saint Joseph's in the opener of an Atlantic 10 baseball doubleheader on Saturday at Time Warner Cable Stadium.

After falling behind by three runs after three innings, Dayton rallied to force extra innings and fought off a 10th inning run by Saint Joseph's before plating the game winner in the 11th inning.

Tyrell finished 2-for-6 with both of his RBI coming in the extra innings to extend and then win the game for Dayton in the 10th and 11th innings respectively. The sophomore was one of just two Flyers to record multiple base hits as Dayton stranded 16 runners on base in the game while racking up 10 hits total.

Myles Swartzel doubled as part of a 2-for-4 effort while Kevin Miller and Max Navalinski added two base hits of their own on the afternoon. Marshall MacDonald hit his third home run of the series and his fifth of the season to give UD four of its 10 hits overall for extra bases.

Freshman Burny Mitchem earned the win in relief for Dayton after allowing just one run on four hits over 3.0 innings pitched. He struck out four and walked only two after coming out of the bullpen to finish things off for Lucas Farden.

Farden made his first start of the season and was solid with five strikeouts over 8.0 innings pitched. He allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks for a Flyer staff that used two pitchers in victory compared to eight for the Hawks.

After Saint Joseph's scored one run in the first and two more in the third, Dayton was behind 3-0 and had stranded five runners on base heading into bottom of the sixth inning. UD started its half of the sixth frame with a single to left field on a 3-1 pitch by Scott Dunwoody. SJU then went to its bullpen for the first time for a lefthanded pitcher to face a righthanded batter in Marshall MacDonald. MacDonald ripped the first pitch he saw over the left centerfield wall for a two-run homer that was his third in two days to make it a 3-2 game.

Farden retired the Hawks in order in the seventh to help the Flyers carry the momentum into the bottom of the inning as Jimmy Roesinger worked a 3-2 count before hitting a single up the middle. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second base, SJU went to the bullpen again and got a strikeout to make two outs in the inning. Then just before Marshall MacDonald drew a five-pitch walk, Roesinger moved up to third on a pitch in the dirt. Another wild pitch allowed Roesinger to score from 90 feet away and knot the score at 3-3 after seven innings.

Dayton threatened in the eighth and both teams loaded the bases in the ninth inning, but neither side would score as the game went into extra innings. SJU would score first in the extra frame on a rally that began all with two outs. A hard hit single off the chest of pitcher Burny Mitchem followed by another base hit into the gap put two runners on for the Hawks. Saint Joseph's then took advantage as Tim Smith hit a RBI single to send David Valesente home from second and give SJU a 4-3 advantage.

UD came back to extend the game further in the bottom of the 10th inning as a SJU reliever hit Ryan Nevill with a pitch after the Flyer worked a 1-2 count in a six-pitch at-bat. Jacob Spaeth came off the bench to lay down a sacrifice bunt that pushed Nevill into scoring position. Cole Tyrell then ripped a single to left field that tied the game again at 4-4.

Saint Joseph's went three-up, three-down to give Dayton a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 11th inning. The rally began the same way as the previous inning as Marshall MacDonald was hit by the first pitch from a fresh relief pitcher out of the SJU bullpen. Justin McManus entered as a pinch runner following another change on the mound for Saint Joseph's and made his way towards second base on a bunt attempt from Myles Swartzel. The throw went to second base and was wide of the bag which allowed McManus to advance to third base. Pinch hitter Zach Lammers hit a single through the left side of the infield that allowed Myles Swartzel to advance to second, but froze McManus at third base to load the bases. After line to second base with the infield drawn in and a strikeout, Cole Tyrell stepped to the plate again for UD. The sophomore delivered his second RBI in as many innings with a hit over the shortstop's glove for a 5-4 Dayton victory.