The Butler baseball team came from behind to beat Dayton in the team’s home opener Tuesday, winning 8-5.
The Flyers (2-8) scored four runs over the first four innings of play, taking a 4-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs (4-7) scored their first run of the game on an RBI double by junior catcher Nick Hladek in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Photo by Taylor Cox
In the next inning, Butler scored four runs to take its first lead of the day.
Senior outfielder Mike Hoscheit walked with the bases loaded, and senior Griffin Richeson was hit by a pitch in the following at-bat to bring another run home.
Junior outfielder Jack Dillon and freshman shortstop Austin Miller then recorded back-to-back singles with the bases loaded to give the Bulldogs their first lead.
“I’d say Dayton helped us out,” Butler coach Steve Farley said. “They brought in some new guys to pitch and committed some errors.”
Dayton was able to tie the game in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly, but a double by Dillon in the bottom of the inning drove in a pair of runs and gave Butler the lead for good.
The Bulldogs were able to battle back from an early deficit to take the victory three days after doing the same against Belmont.
“We’ve done that a few times this year,” Farley said. “We did that against Fresno State and in Tennessee against Belmont, and I’m impressed.
“The guys don’t quit, even in these tough games where we’re behind.”
Last weekend, the Bulldogs fell in the final game of a three-game series to Belmont, losing 8-2.
Down 2-0 after two innings, Butler junior third baseman Lucas Calderon had a run-scoring sacrifice groundout to cut the lead in half.
Butler was unable to handle the offensive attack of the Bruins (6-5) the rest of the way though.
Butler came from behind twice to beat Belmont 8-7 in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
The Bulldogs were down 5-1 when their bats came to life in the sixth inning.
Butler junior first baseman Jimmy Risi drove in three runs on a bases-loaded double before Hoscheit brought Risi home with a double of his own.
Junior catcher Radley Haddad singled to drive in the team’s fifth run of the inning, giving the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.
Belmont regained a 7-6 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Butler responded again in the eighth inning and secured the victory when Hoscheit hit a game-winning, two-run home run.
Butler lost to Belmont 12-4 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
The Bruins held a 12-0 lead before the Bulldogs tallied four runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Butler begins a four-game series at home against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday.
