Dayton still alive in A-10 baseball tournament after victory against Saint Joseph’s

The victory Thursday night kept Dayton alive in the four-team, double-elimination tournament. It will play at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The opponent will be the loser of the first semifinal between No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth and Rhode Island. Those teams play at 11 a.m.

All the games in the tournament are being televised by ESPN+.

In its first game Thursday, Dayton fell behind 7-0 early. Rhode Island scored seven runs on six hits in the first two innings against Dayton ace Hunter Wolfe. The big blow was a three-run home run by Rhode Island catcher Sonny Ulliani in the second inning.

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Dayton faced an 8-0 deficit before it got on the board with a solo home run by Riley Tirotta in the sixth inning. Mitchell Garrity provided the other run with a home run in the eighth.

In the second game, Dayton took control against the Hawks with six runs in the fourth inning.

Mariano Ricciardi went 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Tirotta went 2-for-5 with a home run in the fifth. Marcus Pujols hit a three-run home run in the sixth.