PHILADELPHIA - The University of Dayton softball team took two from Saint Joseph's Saturday, 7-1 and 9-0, in Atlantic 10 play at SJU Softball Field. Senior Kayla English and freshman Manda Cash each tossed complete games in the circle for the Flyers. With the wins, Dayton improves to 27-11 overall and 11-2 in league action while Saint Joseph's falls to 20-11 on the year and 6-4 in conference play.
GAME ONE: Dayton 7, Saint Joseph's 1
Dayton's senior Natalie Mariano got the Flyer offense started with a lead-off single to left and was moved over to second on a single from sophomore Gabrielle Snyder. Senior Tiffany Ricks was walked to load the bases and Mariano came home on a fielder's choice. Sophomore Hannah DeSalvo collected a RBI on her ground out that plated Snyder and UD took a 2-0 lead in the first.
Saint Joseph's got a run back in the bottom of the third on a RBI-double to left and the Hawks loaded up the bases, threatening to tie or take the lead. English got out of the jam as the final SJU batter of the inning went down swinging with no more damage. The Hawks got a runner in scoring position in the fourth but was not able to convert so the Flyers took the 2-1 lead into the fifth.
Ricks singled to center field, plating junior Kathryn Hess in the top of the fifth for Dayton's third run of the game. With runners on second and third,freshman Kailee Budicin picked up a RBI on a ground out that brought across Snyder and the Flyers went ahead, 4-1.
Three more runs for Dayton in the top of the seventh insured the Flyers' 7-1 win. Junior Katelyn Gibson was sent in to pinch run for Mariano and came home on Ricks' single to center. Ricks and Snyder were both plated on the next play as Budicin singled to center and the fielder had a bad throw to third.
English (13-5) tossed a complete game for the Flyers, recording five strikeouts to one walk and allowed one run on five hits.
Madison Clark (15-3) was charged with the loss after also throwing a complete game. She gave up seven runs on 12 hits and struck out two and walked three.
GAME TWO: Dayton 9, Saint Joseph's 0
Ricks opened the second inning with a double, got to third on a Budicin sacrifice bunt and came home thanks to a single by DeSalvo as UD took an early 1-0 advantage. Hess batted a two-out double in the third to put herself in scoring position and Snyder sent her home on a single to center field as Dayton went up, 2-0.
The Flyers put up a four spot in the fourth starting with a RBI-fly out from sophomore Katie Ryan followed by a fielder's choice that plated DeSalvo. Mariano was walked to load the bases and Hess put the ball into play with a fielder's choice as Haynes scored and freshman Jaclyn Kweder took advantage of a Hawk throwing error to come across as well. After four innings, Dayton was in charge, 6-0.
Senior Jordan Jennings blasted a two-out, three-run home run over the fence in the top of the seventh to put an exclamation point on the nightcap win as UD took the 9-0 victory.
Cash (7-1) also worked a complete game for Dayton with nine strikeouts to zero walks in the shutout. She gave up five hits in 28 batters faced.
N. Alden ((3-4) took the loss for Saint Joseph's after giving up six runs. She struck out none and walked one in 3.1 innings of work. A. Lauterbach closed out the game for SJU, giving up the final three runs.
The Flyers and Hawks close out their three-game series Sunday at SJU Softball Field. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
