Baseball Falls To Dayton in Series Opener, 6-3

Box Score
 
Despite the return of a Fordham pitcher from injury, it was Dayton pitcher Noah Buettgen who took center stage on Friday afternoon, as he pitched a complete game and led the Flyers to a 6-3 win over the Fordham Rams at Houlihan Park.
 
The win improved Dayton's record to 9-14 overall, 3-1 in the Atlantic 10, while Fordham fell to 8-13 overall, 1-3 in the league.
 
Dayton opened the game with a 3-0 lead, scoring once in each of the first three innings.  Fordham tried to respond in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with two outs.  Luke Stampfl opened the inning with a single and moved to second on an error.  Two outs later, Tim Swatek drew a walk, while Rob McCunney was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.  The Rams however failed to score as Charles Galiano flew out to left to end the inning.
 
The Flyers picked up another run in the fourth, putting the score at 4-0, until the seventh, when Fordham rallied for three runs, and cut the deficit to 4-3.  Ian Edmiston drew a one-out walk, and moved to second on a single from Matthew Kozuch.  After a ground out advanced the runners, Matthew Cianci drilled a double to right center, scoring both runners.  After an infield single by Joseph Runco, Swatek followed with an RBI-single to score Cianci from third.
 
Dayton though came right back to score a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning on a two-run single by Kuris Duggan to regain a three-run edge, 6-3.
 
Fordham was unable to muster another rally against Dayton starter Noah Buettgen, as he threw a complete game, eight-hitter with five strikeouts.
 
Fordham's Cody Johnson (1-3) took the loss, giving up four runs on six hits.  Joseph Serrapica made his return to the Fordham mound after an injury last season, and didn't miss a beat, throwing three hitless innings of relief with one strikeout.  J.C. Porter pitched the final two innings, posting two strikeouts.
 
At the plate, Swatek was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Cianci was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
 
With rain in the forecast for later Saturday, as well as Sunday, the two teams will attempt to play a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 AM at Houlihan Park.