By Logan Brandon • Sports Editor • 

Pirates fail to gain ground in league, fall to Cavs

Rusty Rae/News-Register##
Dayton leadoff hitter Benji Hudson attempts to steal second base during Wednesday’s league matchup against Blanchet Catholic. Hudson was called out on the play, despite a great attempt to avoid the tag.
Rusty Rae/News-Register## Dayton leadoff hitter Benji Hudson attempts to steal second base during Wednesday’s league matchup against Blanchet Catholic. Hudson was called out on the play, despite a great attempt to avoid the tag.

DAYTON – With the regular season nearing its conclusion, the Dayton baseball team hosted Blanchet Catholic Wednesday. With a win, the Pirates would remain in the hunt for the Class 3A Special District 1’s second seed. A loss, and Dayton would find itself locked into third place.

Head coach Derek Oliveira expertly lined up Wednesday’s matchup to feature his number-one starting pitcher: junior righthander Gavin Koch. Koch has proven instrumental during the Pirates’ 10-win campaign, and he was called to halt the Cavaliers’ six-game winning streak.

Unfortunately, Koch struggled to locate his pitches in a tight strike zone. Blanchet Catholic took advantage, patiently waiting for walks and hit by pitches. The Cavaliers also slugged several timely extra-base hits to sink the Pirates, 16-4.

“I’m very disappointed,” noted Oliveira. “We lost this game mentally – I feel like we’re a better team. We had mental errors in the field and we gave up too many free passes with walks and hit batters. We did not make them earn it.”

After the Cavaliers scored three runs in the top of the first, Dayton responded well when Dylan Yates delivered a two-RBI single in the bottom half.

The Pirates simply couldn’t keep the Cavaliers from scoring, however. Koch and relievers Yates and Bo Johnson didn’t pitch a single clean inning in the five-frame contest.

Kyle Troutman and Nate Arce both drove in a run during the Pirates’ fifth-inning rally attempt

Regarding Koch’s pitching performance, Oliveira observed, “He’s been pretty dominant, so this was just an off day. It was a different outing than I’m used to seeing. It was a little out of character for him.”

Still, Oliveira remains confident in Koch’s ability to lead the Pirates through the district playoffs, beginning next week. Dayton will play the winner of the Scio/Amity matchup, and Oliveira feels confident facing either squad.

The Pirates have twice defeated the Loggers by two runs, and split the season series against the Warriors, winning 6-1 and losing 2-1.

Dayton (10-7, 6-5 SD1) concludes its regular season today at home against Westside Christian at 4:30 p.m.

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