University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Dayton
No. 23 Baseball Wins Regular Season Finale, 12-9, Against Dayton
05/12/2002 | Baseball
May 12, 2002
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond capped an amazing regular season with a 12-9 Atlantic 10 win against Dayton at Pitt Field. Richmond completed the regular season 46-8 overall, 22-2 in conference action and enters next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament as the top seed.
Playing in their final regular-season home game, seniors Mike Gula (2-3, two RBI and two runs scored) and Andy Givens (2.0 IP, two strikeouts, save) led the Spiders to their eighth consecutive win. Junior Vito Chiaravalloti (3-5, three runs, two RBI) and sophomore Matt Craig (3-5, two RBI, two runs) also supplied impressive offensive numbers.
Junior Mike McGirr improved to 11-1 after throwing 6.2 innings and allowing six runs, four earned, on 10 hits. Dayton's Aaron Pahs suffered the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings. Pahs took over for Flyer starter Sam Fischer after just one batter because of an injury.
Dayton (31-19, 14-10 Atlantic 10) opened the game with a run in the first when a Shawn Bolinger single plated Rory Thornton who began the game with a double down the right field line. The Flyers' threatened in the third, but the Spiders caught Aaron Reesh trying to steal home on a wild pitch for the final out.
Gula belted a high-fly home run over the left field wall to knot the game at 1-1 after three innings. The Flyers' broke the tie with a three-run fourth. Two runs came home on an error and Thornton doubled in the final tally.
A two-run fourth brought the Spiders within 4-3. Adam Tidball singled home Chiaravalloti who doubled to deep center. Tidball later scored on a Gula single to left field.
Richmond took the lead with a four-run fifth. Junior David Reaver started the rally with his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left field. Three doubles from Craig, Chiaravalloti and Brian Ruscello accounted for the next two runs and a Dolan single scored Ruscello to make the game 7-4.
Dayton got a leadoff single from Mike Kerins in the sixth but McGirr settled and struck out the next three batters. In the home half of the inning, back-to-back homers from Craig (two run shot over the scoreboard) and Chiaravalloti put the Spiders in front 10-4. It was Craig's 16th and Chiaravalloti's 19th of the spring.
Freshman Tim Rice relieved McGirr with two outs in the seventh and walked in two runs on three walks. Freshman Derek Duclos took over and allowed two hits, RBI singles to Andy Boehmer and Zach Fox, before retiring the final out. Dayton's five runs on three hits made the score 10-9.
A two-run double down the left field line by Pritz made the count 12-9 after seven innings. Pritz finished the day 2-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Senior Andy Givens threw the final two innings to earn his fourth save.
Richmond returns to action at the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Norwich, Conn. from May 16-18.
