Dayton Sweeps Falcon Nine in Two-Game Series
3/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The University of Dayton baseball team won the finale of a two-game series with Air Force, 9-8, Wednesday in a game stopped after six innings due to snow.
Air Force entered the bottom of the sixth inning trailing 9-6 as light flurries began to fall over Falcon Field. With one out, Nelson Prouty doubled to right field and advanced to third on a single by Mike Thiessen. Prouty crossed the plate on an RBI single by Gerremy Goldsberry.
With the snow becoming heavier, Price Paramore flied out, advancing Thiessen to third base. Tony Shockley followed with a single, scoring Thiessen and moving Goldsberry to third. Kent Depue came in to relieve Dayton starter Mike Rolih, and with the field covered with snow, enticed Adam Howes to fly out to center field and end the rally.
After a 10-minute wait, the umpires called the game due to the poor weather conditions.
Air Force, 13-11 this season and in the midst of a six-game losing streak, struck early and often against Rolih, scoring five times in the first inning. Goldsberry collected an RBI with a double to left field, the first of his four hits in the game, and Paramore and Shockley added RBI singles. Bowie Frost hit a sacrifice fly to score Paramore and Daniel Petro finished the scoring barrage with an RBI double.
The Flyers responded with five runs of their own in the top of the third inning. Mark Schulte tripled in a run off Falcon starter Mike Tufte, and Mike Kerins and Shawn Bolinger added run producing hits. Aaron Reesh drove in two runs with a two-out single, scoring Bolinger and Brooks Vogel.
Dayton, 4-7 this season, kept the momentum with two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Kerins drove in his second run of the day with a ground out to second, and Nate Winkelfoos scored on a wild pitch from Tufte. Winkelfoos added an RBI single in the fifth and Vogel scored on a throwing error by Falcon third baseman Bowie Frost.
Petro hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to cut Dayton's lead to 9-6 and Air Force reliever David Diehl shut the Flyers down in the top of the sixth to set up the Falcons' rally in the bottom of the inning.
Rolih won his third game of the season against two losses and Depue picked up his first save of the year. Tufte took the loss and is now 4-3 this season.
Air Force travels to Salt Lake City for a three-game series with Utah beginning this Friday, Mar. 16.
