Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
DAYTON, Ohio – Senior Ted Dilts drove in three runs and fellow senior Thad Johnson locked the door in the ninth to tie the St. Bonaventure baseball career saves record as the Bonnies defeated Dayton, 6-3, on Saturday afternoon.
St. Bonaventure moves to 16-11-1 on the year and back to .500 in Atlantic 10 play at 4-4 against conference foes. Dayton now stands 11-24, 3-8.
The Bonnies never trailed Saturday, seizing a 3-0 lead in the third behind an RBI single by Tyler Walter to get the scoring started, followed by Dilts driving in two more runs with a double down the left field line.
Bona played add-on with scores in the fourth and fifth as Dilts ripped a single to right to score a run before a fielder’s choice from the Bonnies in the fifth brought another home.
Dayton struggled for offense against Bona starter Brandon Schlimm, who moved to 4-3 on the season with seven innings of one-run ball. Schlimm struck out a season-high seven and walked one while scattering six hits.
The Flyers got a run back in the sixth, but the Bonnies responded in the seventh by scoring a tally off a wild pitch for a five-run advantage.
The hosts mounted a rally effort in the late innings, however. Dayton brought two runs home in the eighth against the Bonnies bullpen to cut to within three and then put a runner on in the ninth. Johnson got Robbie Doring to line into a double play, however, to end the game. A hit batter was the only blemish against Johnson in the ninth.
Johnson recorded his fourth save of the year and 16th for his career, tying Brian Pellegrini (2004-07) for most in Bona history.
Three Dayton errors proved costly as just two of St. Bonaventure’s six runs were earned.
Dilts and Walter both finished with two hits apiece with the Bonnies tallying nine altogether.
The series concludes Sunday with first pitch scheduled for noon.
Leave a Reply