After 4-and-a-half hour delay, Flyers baseball falls to VCU in rain-soaked A10 Championship Game

The Flyers came one run away from earning a chance at a winner-take-all game 2 against VCU, losing 7-6 on Saturday. Photo from Friday’s win over Rhode Island courtesy of the Atlantic 10 Conference on Facebook.

Peter Burtnett
Sports Editor

Saturday’s Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship Game was delayed for 4-and-a-half hours, and the rain continued through the Dayton Flyers’ 7-6 loss to VCU at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.

A consistent line of rain moved through Richmond throughout the afternoon and into the evening, but once the game finally started, the Flyers jumped on the board with three runs in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, senior third baseman Riley Tirotta singled to score senior second baseman Mariano Ricciardi. In the bottom of the second, Ricciardi drove in senior outfielder Eddie Pursinger, and senior shortstop Benjamin Blackwell drove in junior catcher Jay Curtis on another single.

But the Rams were quick to respond, scoring one in the top of the third and scoring five more in the fourth. Two runs scored on separate wild pitches (one by senior Hunter Wolfe and the other by junior Bryce Hellgeth), two scored on ground outs, and the middle run scored on an RBI single.

Just as soon as they had grabbed an early 3-0 lead, the Flyers found themselves in a 6-3 hole. Senior outfielder Chris Cabrera scored Blackwell on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning, but the Rams once again responded with an RBI single in the top of the fifth.

The Flyers got a run back in both the fifth and seventh innings, but couldn’t plate the tying run, and Ricciardi grounded out to third base to seal the Rams’ 21st straight win and an Atlantic 10 championship.

The Flyers season ends with a 24-27 overall record, but finishes with stellar in-conference play, going 14-6 (including the A10 Tournament).