April 19, 2008

Box Score

ARLINGTON, VA - A three-run homer by Scott Dunwoody in the second inning gave visiting Dayton a lead it would not relinquish in a 7-3 win over George Washington to close out a series-ending Atlantic 10 baseball doubleheader on Saturday. With its fifth straight victory in conference play, UD improved to 22-16 overall and 7-8 in the A-10.

Dunwoody finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI after hitting his second home run of the season to left field with one out in the second inning. He was one of four Flyers to tally multiple hits in the game as UD out hit GW 14-8.

Jacob Spaeth went 4-for-5 with a double, run scored and a RBI from the ninth spot in the order while Myles Swartzel added a double and two singles to go 3-for-5 with a RBI.

Kevin Miller and Jake Hoover each reached base three times as Miller singled twice and walked while Hoover walked twice and singled once. Cole Tyrell also reached base twice with a single and a walk while scoring both times.

Senior Alex Dye nearly turned in the third straight complete-game performance by the Flyer pitching staff as he struck out five batters in 8.0 innings pitched. The righthander improved to 3-1 on the season while allowing just two runs on seven hits and only one walk.

Freshman Burny Mitchem finished off the day on the mound and gave up a leadoff home run before closing out the game with a strikeout to seal the win for Dayton.

UD jumped on GW early with a pair of runs in the first inning. Kevin Miller hit the third pitch of the game for a single up the middle that followed two pitches later by another single through the right side by Scott Dunwoody. Although Miller was retired on the play, Marshall MacDonald followed with a walk to put two runners on base with just one out. Myles Swartzel then worked a 1-1 count before smacking a RBI single to left field to send home Dunwoody from second base and push MacDonald to second base. Jake Hoover would finish a seven-pitch at bat with a walk that loaded the bases before Ryan Nevill would hit a RBI ground ball to first base to put the Flyers ahead, 2-0.

Dayton added more offense in the second inning beginning with a leadoff single to centerfield by Cole Tyrell. Jacob Spaeth then hit a base hit of his own to center that allowed Tyrell to make his way to third base. After a fly ball to left field could not plate any runs, Scott Dunwoody blasted a home run to left for a 5-0 Dayton advantage.

GW got one run back in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out RBI single, but UD would score again in the sixth. Max Navalinski started the rally with a one-out walk and moved to second on a ground out. Jacob Spaeth then drove in Navalinski with a RBI single to left centerfield for a 6-1 Flyer lead.

George Washington homered to open the bottom of the sixth inning, but Dayton would regain its five-run lead with another run of its own in the top of the eighth inning. Cole Tyrell started with a one-out walk that was followed by a double down the right field line by Jacob Spaeth. Kevin Miller then hit a RBI single to centerfield to send in Tyrell, but Spaeth was thrown out at the plate to end the threat with UD ahead 7-2.

GW looked to make another run in the ninth with a leadoff home run, but Burny Mitchem would retire the next two batters in order on a pair of ground outs. Then a Colonial pinch hitter battled his way through a seven-pitch at bat before striking out swinging to end the game in a 7-3 Flyer victory.

Dayton will look to continue its winning ways on Wednesday with a non-conference doubleheader at Butler at 2 p.m. ET. The action from Indianapolis can be followed with Gametracker at www.DaytonFlyers.com.