FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The University of Dayton baseball team hit three home runs in the top of the eleventh inning to pick up a win in extra innings 8-4 over Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday afternoon. The Flyers hit four home runs in the contest, with junior Keagan Calero's go-ahead homer putting Dayton ahead for good.
 
The Flyers snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 8-6 in 2022. Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 1-15 on the year with the loss. Calero led Dayton offensively, picking up three hits and the go-ahead RBI. Senior Jay Curtis also picked up three hits, while junior Alex Neff drove in two runs with a double and a home run.
 
ON THE MOUND
Junior Mark Manfredi started the game for the Flyers, striking out nine in his 4.1 innings on the mound. Manfredi gave up four runs on seven hits before giving way to sophomore Austin Brush. Brush pitched the next two-thirds of an inning without allowing a run to get Dayton through five innings.
 
Redshirt junior Nick Maue was next out of the Dayton bullpen, allowing just one hit in 1.1 innings on the mound with one strikeout. Maue got through the sixth and into the seventh before senior Bryce Hellgeth took over and went the next 1.1 innings. Hellgeth also did not allow a run in his time on the mound before sophomore Eli Majick took over and pitched Dayton through the extra innings.
 
Majick struck out one and scattered two hits in 3.1 scoreless innings. The lefty retired 10 of 13 batters he faced, keeping Purdue Fort Wayne off the board as the game went into extra innings before the Dayton offense scored.
 
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1: (2-0 Flyers)
Calero's one-out double was followed by senior Marcos Pujols second home run of the season to put Dayton up 2-0.
 
Bottom 2: (3-2 Mastodons)
Manfredi retired the first Purdue Fort Wayne hitter before three straight singles cut the lead to one. A fourth single in the inning scored two more runs and gave Purdue Fort Wayne the lead.
 
Top 3: (3-3 Tie)
Calero picked up his second hit of the afternoon and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Pujols. Calero would advance to third on a wild pitch and score on an error by Purdue Fort Wayne's center fielder to tie the game at three.
 
Bottom 5: (4-3 Mastodons)
A leadoff double put a runner on for Purdue Fort Wayne in the fifth. A wild pitch moved him to third and another double put the Flyers down one.
 
Top 7: (4-4 Tie)
Curtis got on in the seventh inning on a base hit to right field. Neff doubled to move him to third and redshirt freshman Andrew Casey was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Curtis and tied the game at four.
 
Top 11: (8-4 Flyers)
Calero's second home run of the season put Dayton ahead for good. Curtis drew a one-out walk and Neff's team-leading third home run of 2022 extended the lead to three. Casey made it back-to-back, hitting his first career home run to give the Flyers their eighth and final run.
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers will play an adjusted three-game series at Michigan over the weekend. With inclement weather anticipated throughout the weekend, Dayton will now play tomorrow at 6 p.m. with a second game to be played either Friday or Saturday depending on the weather. The series will close with one game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor.