COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of Dayton baseball team opened the 2021 season with a loss at South Carolina on Friday afternoon 12-1.
 
It marked the first contest for the Flyers in program history against the Gamecocks, and UD falls to 0-1 on the season. Graduate student Alex Brickman went 2-4 with a home run, driving in the first run of the season for Dayton to lead the way offensively while senior Mariano Ricciardi picked up two hits in his first contest of the season.
 
On the Mound
Senior Hunter Wolfe got the ball on Opening Day and made it five innings, giving up eight earned runs on seven hits, walking four and striking out four. The southpaw gave up two home runs that accounted for seven of his eight runs allowed.
 
Sophomore Anthony Hattrup relieved Wolfe in the sixth and allowed two runs in his one inning of work. Freshman Parker Bard entered for the Flyers in the seventh, making his Dayton debut. Bard worked one scoreless inning allowing one hit and striking out one in the process.
 
Freshman Austin Brush also made his debut in the contest, entering the game in the eighth inning.
 
Scoring Plays
Bottom 1: (3-0 Gamecocks)
The first two South Carolina hitters got on before a Wes Clarke home run put the Flyers into a 3-0 deficit early. The ball barely cleared the center field fence but it gave the Gamecocks a lead.
 
Bottom 3: (7-0 Gamecocks)
South Carolina's Andrew Eyster sent an 0-2 pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam extending the lead for the Gamecocks.
 
Bottom 5: (8-0 Gamecocks)
The Gamecocks led off the inning with a triple before Wolfe struck out the seven hitter for South Carolina. Catcher Colin Burgess drove in the run from third with a sacrifice fly to left extending the lead to 8-0.
 
Top 6: (8-1 Gamecocks)
Marcos Pujols led off the inning with a strikeout before Brickman took the first pitch over the left field wall to cut the deficit to seven. It marked the first run of the season for Dayton and was the first RBI of the year for Brickman.
 
Bottom 6: (10-1 Gamecocks)
South Carolina opened the inning with a leadoff double that was followed by a ball that made it all the way to the wall for a double for Brady Allen, driving in a run to make it 9-1. Hattrup got the next hitter to foul out to first base. A wild pitch advanced Allen to third before Wes Clarke drove in another run with a single to right field.
 
Bottom 8: (12-1 Gamecocks)
Clarke led off the inning with a double for South Carolina before Austin Brush struck out the next hitter. A one out walk brought up Burgess again who drove in both runs with a single that right fielder Chris Cabrera failed to bring in making it the final score of 12-1 South Carolina.
 
Up Next:
The Flyers will return to Founders Park tomorrow to take on South Carolina for the second of three games in the series at 1 p.m.