May 19, 2007

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - In a reversal of fortunes from the first two games of the series, Dayton rallied past Saint Louis 4-3 this afternoon at The Billiken Sports Center behind two runs in the top of the ninth. Seniors Ryan Bird and Mark Hankes gave the Billikens (16-37, 12-14 A-10) the lead as Bird matched his season high with nine strikeouts and Hankes drove in two runs on a pair of hits. Facing senior Brock Hewitt on the mound for the third-straight ninth inning, the Flyers battled back to load the bases and bring home the winning runs on a Cole Tyrell two-out single through the left side.

After Bird struck out the side in the top of the second, the Billiken led off the home half of the inning with a Blake Bratcher infield single. UD starter Sean Finn walked Greg Rodgers and retired B.J. Rodrigue before a wild pitch moved Bratcher to third. After recording the second out of the inning, Hankes stepped up with an RBI single to left for an early 1-0 lead.

The Flyers evened things up in the top of the third as Michael DeLuca, Kevin Miller and Michael Massa strung together three straight singles to load the bases. Bird hit catcher Scott Dunwoody to plate DeLuca with the tying run. A pair of ground ball outs held UD in check.

Hankes again put the Billikens on top in the bottom of the fourth after Bratcher repeated his second-inning leadoff single. Rodgers slipped a single through the right side to send Bratcher to second. With a runner in scoring position and two outs, Hankes again delivered with a single through the left side and a 2-1 lead.

The Flyers looked for a two-out rally of their own in the top of the fifth, but Bird worked around a pair of singles to hold onto his lead. In the bottom of the inning, Ryan Crespi led off with a single through the left side, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games. The senior centerfielder stole second then scored on Tom Pinnell's single that bounced over the head of the UD third baseman and into left field. Casey Moore added another single to move Pinnell to third, but a double play and a fly ball got the Flyers out of the inning trailing 3-1. Tyrell cut the lead to one run after recording the game's only extra-base hit in the top of the sixth with a two-out double down the left field line and scoring on DeLuca's single through the left side.

Senior Dan Cowsert. The Billiken right-hander worked around a walk to close out the inning. Hewitt took over in the ninth as he had in the previous two games of the series. After retiring Scott Dunwoody to lead off the inning, back-to-back singles put the go-ahead run on base. A fly ball off the bat of Joe McSoley was misplayed and left the bases loaded with just one out. Hewitt battled from behind in the count to strike out Cale Ort, but could not retire Tyrell, who slipped a single through the left side. A DeLuca strikeout wrapped up the inning, setting the stage for what the Billikens hoped would be another ninth-inning comeback.

UD reliever Kyle Lindsay gave up a one-out single to Crespi, but got out of the jam when Dunwoody threw out Crespi trying to take second on a wild pitch. A foul out sealed the game for the Flyers.

Bird suffered his seventh no-decision of the season in 12 starts despite allowing just two runs and striking out nine in seven innings of work. Lindsay collected his first win of the year with two innings of two-hit relief. Hankes' two hits and two RBIs were tied for game-high honors. Crespi, Bratcher and Rodgers also posted a pair of hits for the Billikens.