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Xavier hands UD season-ending defeat

Top-seeded Flyers drop two consecutive games in A-10 tournament.

A-10 notes: Will history repeat itself?

By Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 11:16 PM Friday, May 22, 2009

DAYTON — A familiar rival, albeit in a different sport, put an end to the University of Dayton baseball team’s record-breaking season on Friday, May 22.

In a must-win game to reach today’s championship, UD suffered an 11-3 loss to Xavier at Fifth Third Field. That, coupled with a 9-2 loss to Rhode Island earlier Friday, eliminated the top-seeded Flyers from the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

Dayton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Xavier. The Musketeers, playing their third straight elimination game and second of the day, rallied to score 10 of their 11 runs with two outs.

No. 3 Xavier plays No. 2 Rhode Island at noon today for the A-10 title. A second game, if necessary, follows at 3:30.

The loss capped a campaign that saw UD win its first regular-season A-10 title and set numerous records — including a school-record 38 wins — with a prolific offense. But when they needed it most, the big hits didn’t come.

Dayton managed 10 hits against Xavier but also stranded eight runners.

“We did something no Dayton team had done before. That’s something we can hang our hat on and be proud of,” said UD catcher Scott Dunwoody.

“Obviously it’s not the way we wanted to go out by any means, but it’s still a season that will be in the record books.”

Xavier broke the game open in the seventh with five singles, a walk and a hit batter all with two outs. The five-run outburst put the Musketeers up 10-2.

“I’m really proud, especially of our seniors. We started a tradition at the University of Dayton with our first league championship,” UD coach Tony Vittorio said. “They’ve been awesome and I really appreciate what they’ve done.”