BRONX, N.Y. – Eddie Pursinger hit a two-strike, two out bases-loaded double in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift third-seeded Dayton past No. 6 Rhode Island 5-2 in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship Wednesday at Fordham’s Houlihan Park.

The Flyers (30-24-1) advance to face the winner of the No. 2 Davidson/No. 7 Saint Louis game. The Rams (23-28) fall into the consolation bracket.

Tied at two entering the bottom of the eight, Michael Cleary and Jay Curtis were both hit by a pitch, sandwiched around a pair of outs and a catcher’s interference that put Alec Brickman on base. Pursinger battled to a 2-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs, and turned a sure strike three into a bases-clearing double that hugged the left field line.

Pursinger’s game-winner came following a game-tying run in the seventh by the Flyers. Takahiro Yamada, who looked like he might have to leave the game in the fourth after getting his hand stepped on, hit a single that pushed Connor Wilson to third. A wild throw to first allowed Yamada to advance and Wilson to score the game-tying run.

Tyler Jones (3-3) picked up the win for Dayton, throwing 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits, with one walk and one strikeout. Tyler Brosius (6-2) took the loss for 1.2 innings of work, surrendering one hit and three runs, two earned.

Rhode Island scored in the first inning on an RBI single by Jackson Coutts that scored Kevin Heiss. The Rams other run came in the fifth on an RBI double by Jordan Laske that also plated Heiss. Mitchell Garrity got one of the runs back for the Flyers in the third, scoring an unearned run on a throwing error.