CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The University of Dayton softball team kicked off the 2016 campaign with a pair of foes from the Volunteer state on Friday afternoon, falling to Chattanooga 1-0 in extra innings in the season's opener, and then hanging on to beat UT-Martin 5-4 in the second game of the Chattanooga Spring Classic.

Game One – Chattanooga
Scoring Breakdown
8th - Chattanooga took advantage of a Dayton error to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning when the Mocs' Sam Taylor smacked a walk-off double to right-center field.

Key Stats
Manda Cash came out firing on all cylinders to start the season, allowing just one unearned run in seven innings of work. The sophomore southpaw allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out 10.

Dayton's first hit of the season came from Katie Ryan with a two-out single in the first inning.

Unfortunately the Chattanooga pitching and defense were just a tad stronger than Dayton's, allowing just five base runners the entire game.

Freshman Lisa Tassi had the other UD hit, going 1-for-2 in her collegiate debut.

GAME TWO – UT-Martin
Scoring Breakdown
Top of 1st - It didn't take long for the Flyers to find the offense in the second game of the day's double-dip, with Katie Ryan busting her first home run of the season after a Kathryn Hess single to give UD an early 2-0 lead.

Top of 1st - Later in the inning, Hannah DeSalvo followed with an RBI triple to put Dayton up 3-0.

Top of 1st - The runs continued to pile up thanks to a Gabrielle Snyder sacrifice fly that made it 4-0 in favor of UD

Bottom 2nd – An RBI double from the Skyhawks followed by a Dayton throwing error cut the Flyers' lead in half and made the score 4-2.

Top 3rd - Dayton cashed in a key insurance run on a Kennedy Haynes RBI groundout that scored Hannah DeSalvo and gave UD a 5-2 advantage.

Bottom 7 - UT Martin came fighting back with a two-run home run that made the deficit just one run, but freshman Jessica Gilliam finished strong to preserve the 5-4 win for Dayton.

Key Stats
Dayton had three players collect two hits, with Hess, Ryan and Kailee Budicin all going 2-for-4 with a run scored. 

Ryan's first inning home run was the third round-tripper of her career.

Gilliam picked up the first win in her young career with her five innings of relief work in the win over UT Martin.

QUOTABLES
Manda Cash
"It was very exciting for our first outing of the season. We played really well against a regional team and I think it was a good step to start the season."

Katie Ryan
"The first game was a tough loss, but such a fun one to play. Having that extra excitement kind of carried over to the UT Martin game and helped us bounce back from the first one."

"The first inning was great. We didn't score a run in the first game and to come out and grab the momentum early with some runs was a big deal. It helped us keep the excitement going the rest of the day."

Cara LaPlaca
"We were pleased with our performance on day one. Our pitchers did a great job of keeping opposing batters off balance all day. In particular, Manda did a really good job of controlling her pitches and leading the team in that first game. Offensively we did a good job of making adjustments at-bat to at-bat and from game to game, and now we look forward to getting back out there tomorrow and going at it again."

UP NEXT
UD is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 20 for a pair of games against IPFW at 1:30 p.m. and cross-town foe Wright State at 4:00 p.m.