BRONX, N.Y. – The University of Dayton baseball team took the weekend series opener against Fordham on Friday evening by a score of 4-1. Junior Austin Cline pitched a masterful complete game on the mound, the second time Cline has gone the distance this season, holding the Rams to just one run. Dayton is now 14-27 (6-10 A-10), while Fordham falls to 28-15-1 (10-6 A-10).

KEY MOMENT
With two runners on base and the scored knotted up at 1-1 in the top of the seventh, junior Connor Echols came through with a massive three-run home run to give Dayton a 4-1 lead. The three-run lead that Echols' fourth home run of the season provided the Flyers was more than enough for Austin Cline on the mound, who was firing on all cylinders for the entire game.

SCORING SUMMARY
Top 3rd: (Dayton 1, Fordham 0)
Mitchell Garrity reached base on a walk, then moved into scoring position following a Connor Echols sacrifice bunt. Pat Meehan put Dayton on the board with a two-out triple down the right field line.

Bottom 5th: (Dayton 1, Fordham 1)
Brian Goulard got Fordham's first hit of the day with a bunt single to third, then stole second and advanced on a wild pitch to reach third base. Goulard scored and tied up the game when Colton Snelling hit a high, chopping grounder up the middle of the infield.

Top 7th: (Dayton 4, Fordham 1)
Brantley Johnson ripped a single up the middle and Mitchell Garrity reached on a walk to give Dayton a pair of baserunners, when Connor Echols delivered a three-run home run over the left field wall.
 
KEY STATS

• Austin Cline's final line on the mound was CG, 3 H, 1 R (ER), 12 K, 2 BB.
• Cline has now struck out 10+ in two of his last three starts and 8+ in three of his last four.
• The junior from East Liberty, Ohio is now just one of six pitchers in the Atlantic 10 Conference to have thrown multiple complete games this season, including fellow Flyer Aaron Ernst.
• Dayton is the only team with multiple pitchers to have thrown complete games this season.
• Mitchell Garrity opened the game with a single through the right side, extending his reached base streak to 19 games, which is the longest streak for the Flyers this season.
• Garrity and Connor Echols also both extended their team-best current hitting streaks up to seven.
• Echols finished 1-for-3 at the plate, including the three run home run in the seventh inning that broke the 1-1 tie.
• The three-run blast was Echols' fourth of the season, which is tied for third-most on the team behind Brandon Smith (8) and Pat Meehan (6).
• Michael Cleary and Brantley Johnson both had two hits apiece, tied for the most on the team.
• Both of Cleary's base hits were doubles, bringing his season total to seven, which is the third-highest total on the team despite only starting in 21 out of Dayton's 41 games this year.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Starting pitcher Austin Cline and head coach Jayson King spoke after the team's crucial season-opening win over Fordham:






 
UP NEXT
Dayton and Fordham will be back at it tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the second game of the weekend series, which will conclude on Sunday at 12 p.m.