DAYTON – The University of Dayton baseball team dropped the series finale against North Dakota State Tuesday afternoon, falling 9-3 at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium.
 
The Flyers fall to 3-11 on the season with the loss. UD fell behind 6-0 after the top of the first inning, creating a deficit that Dayton could not make up. Juniors Marcos Pujols and Benjamin Blackwell each picked up two hits, with Pujols also picking up an RBI and Blackwell improving his batting average to .341 in 2021 to lead the team.
 
Sophomore Nick Wissman pitched well in relief for Dayton, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings picking up six strikeouts along the way. Graduate student Justin Longbrake also pitched well in his season debut, retiring all three batters he faced and striking out two.
 
ON THE MOUND
Senior Cole Pletka got the start on the mound, facing only two batters before being relieved by sophomore Nate Espelin. Espelin made it one-third of an inning giving up four runs in the process on three hits.
 
Junior Jake Silverstein finished the first inning for Dayton and would end up going 2.1 innings in relief allowing just one run on three hits and picking up a strike out.
 
Wissman and Longbrake were the next two combining for 4.1 innings of scoreless, one-hit baseball with eight strikeouts. Senior Jonathan Brus entered in the top of the eighth inning, going 1.1 innings allowing two runs and striking out two before graduate student Tyler Jones finished the game, going the final two-thirds of an inning allowing one hit and picking up one strikeout.
 
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1: (6-0 Bison)
Pletka hit the first batter of the game and walked the next one before Espelin entered. A double off the right field wall brought home the first two runs of the game. A single put runners on the corners and a balk scored another run, moving the runner on first into scoring position. A fly out to right center field advanced him to third and a wild pitch made it 4-0 NDSU. A walk and a double put runners in scoring position and after a walk loaded the bases a sacrifice fly and an RBI single put Dayton in an early 6-0 hole.
 
Bottom 1: (6-1 Bison)
Blackwell reached on a one-out single to left field and after Pujols moved him to third with a double down the left field line, graduate student Alex Brickman brought home the first run of the game for the Flyers with a sacrifice fly to right field.
 
Top 3: (7-1 Bison)
A one-out double put a runner in scoring position and after a fly out to right field moved him to third, a single into right field scored another run for the Bison.
 
Bottom 5: (7-2 Bison)
Senior Mitchell Garrity drew a one-out walk and senior Mariano Ricciardi replaced him on first after a fielder's choice. A single by Blackwell put Ricciardi in scoring position and a base hit to right field by Pujols scored the Dayton second baseman and cut the Bison lead to five.
 
Bottom 8: (7-3 Bison)
Senior Jared Howell was hit by a pitch with one out and advanced to second on freshman Chase Melnick's first career hit in a Dayton uniform. A walk by Garrity loaded the bases and another fielder's choice by Ricciardi scored Howell from third and made it a 7-3 game.
 
Top 9: (9-3 Bison)
Brus hit the first batter of the inning before striking out the next batter. A walk put two runners on base and Jones entered the game. He struck out the first batter he faced before a double to center field brought home both runners and gave the game its final score.
 
UP NEXT
Dayton will begin a home series with Central Michigan on Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m. The Flyers will play a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday and finish the series with a Sunday contest beginning at 1 p.m.