Score: VCU 5, Dayton 2 (10 innings)
Location: Dayton, Ohio (Woerner Field)
Records: VCU 13-9 (5-0), Dayton 13-9 (1-4)
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VCU baseball extended its undefeated start in Atlantic 10 play to five games, marking the best conference start since joining the league in 2013, with a 5-2 victory at Dayton.
Patrick Steitz allowed just one run over his 7.0 innings of work and
Nate Kirkpatrick lifted VCU to victory with a 10
th-inning home run to clinch the Rams' third consecutive weekend series.
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LEADING OFF:
- Steitz matched his Division I career high 7.0 innings and seven strikeouts for the second consecutive week
- Zach Peters and Cooper Campbell didn't give up an earned run out of the bullpen, combining for five strikeouts and two baserunners allowed
- Teige Lethert's two hits led the Rams, it was his second multi-hit game of the week
- Seven of the nine starting Rams tallied hits and all nine reached base safely
- On the basepaths, VCU had four stolen bases, led by Michael Petite's two, and brought their season total to 47 in 55 attempts
- The Rams picked up their second extra-innings win of the season
- VCU joins Saint Joseph's as the only teams remaining undefeated in league play
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Dayton scored first after Setitz's lone free pass of the contest came around to score on a single, but he followed with six scoreless frames
- VCU had its first two runs score on RBI doubles from Lethert and Nick Flores in the second and fifth innings, respectively, and the Rams took a 2-1 lead
- The Flyers evened the score on an error in the bottom of the eighth and a scoreless ninth forced extra innings
- Kirkpatrick blasted a 379-foot go-ahead home run, scoring Jacob Lee after a one-out walk, and Quinn Maher came around to score on a wild pitch after a base knock to give VCU its 5-2 lead
- Campbell shut the door on VCU's fifth conference victory with a perfect 10th inning to earn his first save as a Ram
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UP NEXT
VCU will search for its third-straight weekend sweep on Sunday, March 22, against the Flyers at 12:00 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio. Live statistics will be available to view on StatBroadcast.