DAYTON – The University of Dayton baseball team won the team's final midweek game of the regular season, taking down Purdue Fort Wayne 8-5 on Tuesday afternoon at Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium. Graduate student Henry Strmecki led the Flyers with two home runs on the day.
 
Strmecki went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored in Dayton's win over the Mastodons. Junior Keagan Calero hit two doubles off the wall finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and senior Jay Curtis added a two-run double.
 
The Flyers improve to 20-24 with the win, while the Mastodons fall to 13-32.
 
ON THE MOUND
Redshirt junior Cody Whitten started the game for the Flyers, going the first three innings and allowing three runs on five hits, picking up two strikeouts. Sophomore Eli Majick relieved him in the fourth inning, making his team-leading 22^nd appearance of the season. Majick went 1.1 innings allowing one run on two hits.
 
Junior Nick Wissman entered for Majick in the fifth, going the next 1.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits. Redshirt junior Nick Maue would pitch the seventh inning for Dayton, allowing one hit and picking up a strikeout, earning his first win of the season.
 
Graduate student Nick Meyer finished the game for Dayton, pitching the final two innings and earning his first career save as a Flyer. Meyer struck out four in his time on the mound for Dayton.
 
SCORING PLAYS
Top 3: (2-0 Mastodons)
Whitten retired the first batter of the inning before a solo home run put the Flyers down 1-0. Two batters later a second solo home run put Purdue Fort Wayne up by two runs.
 
Bottom 3: (3-2 Flyers)
Calero doubled for the first time of the day with one out in the third. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and would score on an RBI groundout by senior Marcos Pujols. Strmecki picked up his first hit of the day with a base hit through the left side and would steal second. Redshirt junior Alex Neff reached on an infield single and both would score on the double by Curtis in the right center field gap.
 
Top 4: (3-3 Tie)
A base hit led off the fourth inning and a stolen base put the runner in scoring position. Another single would put a runner on third and the throw home moved both runners into scoring position. A base hit that hit off of Majick on the mound scored the tying run to make it 3-3.
 
Top 5: (4-3 Mastodons)
A leadoff infield single put a runner on and a fielder's choice replaced the baserunner on first. A walk put runners on first and second and a fielder's choice put runners on the corners. The second infield single of the inning gave the Mastodons the lead.
 
Bottom 5: (5-4 Flyers)
Calero's second double of the game to lead off the fifth was followed two batters later by Strmecki's first home run of the game to put the Flyers back in front 5-4.
 
Top 7: (5-5 Tie)
Back-to-back singles followed by a passed ball put runners on second and third with no one out. An RBI groundout tied the game heading into the seventh inning stretch.
 
Bottom 7: (6-5 Flyers)
Strmecki's second home run of the game and eighth of the season gave the Flyers the lead right back in the seventh inning.
 
Bottom 8: (8-5 Flyers)
Freshman Matt Maloney led off the eighth with a base hit up the middle, and an error by the right fielder moved him into scoring position. A passed ball put Maloney on third. Junior Omar Daniels brought Maloney home with a bunt to score the seventh run of the game. Calero's bunt single put two on and Pujols singled through the right side bringing in his second RBI of the game, finalizing the score at 8-5.
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers will take on Richmond in the series opener at Day Air Ballpark on Friday at 7 p.m.