Baseball Recap: Flyers Swept By Saint Louis

Grant Little
Contributing Writer

The Atlantic-10 Conference leading Saint Louis Billikens swept Dayton this past weekend, as the Flyers gave up a total of 34 runs in two days.

Saint Louis (25-9, 11-1) extend their winning streak to seven and stay at the top of the conference. Dayton (8-22, 2-7) has lost nine out of their last 10 games, struggling at home and away.

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Friday, the Flyers lost 9-8 after a valiant rally in the bottom of the ninth inning. Every starter for the Flyers reached base safely at least once and six players had an RBI. The Flyers put together a six-run inning in the ninth but fell short as the 9-2 hole was too much to overcome. Sophomore pitcher Tyler Jones (1-3) gave up seven hits, five runs, walked four and recorded the loss.
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Freshman pitcher Aaron Ernst picked up the loss in the second game, falling to 1-2 on the season. The Billikens got off to an early start, jumping to a 6-2 lead by the fifth inning. The 8-4 win for Saint Louis still contained a Flyer highlight with a two-run home run from redshirt-sophomore Brandon Smith, his fifth home run of the season.

Smith made his home run tally six when he and sophomore outfielder Tate Hagan went back-to-back on Saturday. This was Smith’s fourth home run in five games and Hagan’s first this season.

However, the pitching and fielding let the Flyers down as the Flyers gave up twenty hits and committed three errors in a 17-4 loss. It was sophomore pitcher Josh Nixon’s fourth loss, moving him to 1-4 on the year. Junior pitcher Austine Cline went on to strikeout eight in his four and one-third innings of relief.
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Dayton was closing in on the Billikens 3-2 in the third inning until the Billikens loaded the bases and Nick Reeser hit a grand slam. Reeser had seven RBI on the day, and Saint Louis ended the third inning with a commanding seven run lead that could not be overcome.

What’s next … ?

Dayton is set to host Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, April 17 at Woerner Field.

Photo Taken By Steven Miller/Sports Editor