Prior to this year’s baseball season, the Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason rankings which featured Charlotte as the predicted A-10 Champions. Xavier was slated to finish second, and Dayton, the 2009 champions, landed the third spot. However, in light of the season, Dayton has struggled to maintain its reputation, with a 9-11 record thus far.
Last weekend, the Flyers faced Siena in a four-game series. Cameron Hobson, Dayton’s ace pitcher, shut-out the Saints on Friday in a 13-0 win. Hobson registered 14 strikeouts, and, after facing 23 batters, the game was called in the seventh inning due to rain. In honor of his performance, Hobson was named the A-10 Conference Player of the Week and is now second in Dayton’s career strikeout list with 191. His ERA currently rests at 2.16.
The next three games did not fair so well for the Flyers. In a doubleheader on Saturday, Dayton lacked adequate offense. In both games, Dayton combined for 20 hits, but left 22 runners on base, resulting in 6-3 and 4-1 losses. On Sunday, the Saints rallied for a victory in extra innings.
Dayton starter Tim Bury threw eight innings, the first six of which were scoreless. Reliever Trent Haughn suffered the loss by allowing four runs (one earned).
Dayton will travel to California to face Pepperdine this weekend.
49ers continue to impress
So far, Charlotte has lived up to its high expectations this season. Picked to win the A-10 title, the 49ers currently have the best record in the conference at 16-5.
Charlotte landed its first away win at Wake Forest on Tuesday. The back-and-forth game featured four lead changes and lasted for four hours and 16 minutes, stretching into the 11th inning.
The 49ers got on the board in the second inning, when senior outfielder Cory Tilton singled in catcher Ross Steedley. The Demon Deacons took the lead with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second. Jack Fischer singled to bring Carlos Lopez home. Zane Yanzick flied to left field allowing designated hitter Jack Carey to score. Fischer advanced to third but was caught when trying to steal home. Wake then scored another in the third, bringing them to a 3-1 lead.
Trailing 4-3 in the seventh, Charlotte scored four runs to take a 7-4 lead. The Demon Deacons rallied in the eighth to tie the game at seven. The game remained knotted until the 11th, when the 49ers tallied five hits and six runs to put the game away.
Xavier upsets Louisville
The nationally ranked Louisville Cardinals were flightless in last weekend’s series against Xavier, losing the series, 2-1.
The first game proved to be a slugfest for both teams as they combined for 27 hits. Xavier scored four runs in the first with three hits and a walk. The Musketeers added three more in the third, thanks to first baseman Brian Bruening’s two-run single and Selby Chidemo’s RBI single.
Louisville responded in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on four hits to make it 7-3. The Cardinals went on to score two runs in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, but it wasn’t enough as they ultimately fell, 11-9. With the win, Xavier extended its winning streak to nine games.
The Musketeers’ streak would end the next day, when Louisville shut them out, 3-0. Unlike Friday, the game lacked offense as Cardinals starter Justin Amlung (4-0) and XU’s Jon Richard (2-2) battled in a pitchers dual. Amlung ultimately came out on top, throwing seven scoreless innings while striking out seven. Richard also threw seven, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks.
The Musketeers secured the series by taking a 4-1 victory on Sunday. The team showed no mercy to Louisville right-hander Mike Nastold as they scored three runs on two hits in the first inning. Stewart Ijames shortened the Cardinal’s gap by hitting a single to bring Drew Haynes to home plate in the seventh. Elwell added one more for Xavier in the top of the ninth by hitting a single to left, bringing in pinch runner Chidemo.
Trevor Bray can be reached at [email protected].
