PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The University of Dayton baseball team opened up its series with La Salle on Friday with a hard-fought 7-3 loss to the Explorers.

Host La Salle took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single to center. The Explorers exploded for five more runs in the second, putting Dayton in a 6-0 hole.

The Flyers got on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI double to left by senior Alex Harris. He then went on to score on an error by the La Salle defense.

In the bottom of the fourth, La Salle pushed its lead back to five with a sacrifice fly, making it a 7-2 contest.

Dayton scored again in the sixth on another Explorer error, closing the gap to four runs.

Down the stretch, the Flyers were unable to make any more of a comeback and fell to the host Explorers 7-3.

As a team, Dayton totaled four hits and allowed just six to La Salle, but both teams left five runners stranded. Harris had the best outing for UD with an RBI, a double, and two runs scored. Senior Sergio Plasencia went 2-for-4 on the day while junior Aaron Huesman added a double.

Starter Charlie Dant (L, 1-5) pitched seven strong innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven. Freshman Tyson Schnitkey made his team-leading 13^th performance and threw a perfect eighth inning.

The Flyers (6-17, 0-4 A-10) will continue their series against the Explorers on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.