DAYTON -- The University of Dayton baseball team defeated Butler on Tuesday afternoon by a score of 6-1. The Flyers are now 14-12-1 on the season and have won eight of their last 10 games, while Butler now has a 16-10 record this year. Dayton was led by career-high efforts from freshman shortstop Benjamin Blackwell and junior right-hander Cole Pletka, as Blackwell recorded four hits at the plate and Pletka struck out 10 Butler batters on the mound.

KEY MOMENT
Bailey Montoya's two-out, two RBI single to center field in the bottom of the sixth gave Dayton a 5-1 lead and some much needed cushion in what was a two-run ballgame. Tyler Jones and Corey Imbriano kept Butler from scoring in the final three innings.

SCORING SUMMARY
Top 3: Butler 1, Dayton 0
Butler struck first when Connor Dall singled up the middle and was driven in two batters later on a Kyle Smith double that hit the chalk on the right field line.

Bottom 3: Dayton 2, Butler 1
Dayton answered, as Benjamin Blackwell singled to center, then Mitchell Garrity went opposite field to left for his second home run of the season.

Bottom 5: Dayton 3, Butler 1
Benjamin Blackwell kickstarted the scoring inning for the Flyers once again in the fifth -- this time with a single to right. Blackwell advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and stole third before scoring on a Takahiro Yamada groundout.

Bottom 6: Dayton 5, Butler 1
Dayton did damage all with two outs in the sixth, as Michael Cleary was hit by his NCAA-leading 17th pitch of the season and Eddie Pursinger ripped a hard-hit ball off of the pitcher's cleat for an infield single to put a pair on for the Flyers. A double steal put both runners in scoring position, then Bailey Montoya delivered a single to center field to drive in Cleary and Pursinger and provide some cushion to the UD lead.

Bottom 7: Dayton 6, Butler 1
Jay Curtis doubled to center field and after Curtis was replaced by Connor Wilson at second base, Riley Tirotta drove in Wilson with a single into no man's land in right center.

KEY STATS

• Benjamin Blackwell went 4-for-4 at the plate, which is the most hits for a Dayton player this season and also set a new career high.
• Mitchell Garrity and Bailey Montoya both had a team-high two RBI, while Takahiro Yamada and Riley Tirotta also chipped in with a run driven in at the dish.
• Garrity extended his team-high hitting streak to seven with a base hit in the game and Jay Curtis extended his to six with a double in the seventh.
• Cole Pletka struck out a career-high 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work, allowing five hits, one earned run and walking just one.
• Pletka has now wrung up at least seven batters in all three outings where he has pitched 5.0 innings or more.
• Tyler Jones (2.1 IP) and Corey Imbriano (1.0) closed out the game with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.
• Imbriano struck out a pair and allowed no Bulldog baserunners to reach in the ninth.

UP NEXT

• Dayton heads north on I-75 tomorrow to take on Bowling Green before hitting the road to Olean, N.Y. this weekend for a three-game set at St. Bonaventure.