BRONX, N.Y. – Fourth-seeded Fordham got single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to edge No. 3 Dayton, 4-2, in the winner’s bracket semifinal of the 2019 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship. Fordham will make its third championship final appearance, and the first since 2007.

Dayton (31-25-1) will play again Friday night in the consolation bracket game.

Fordham (37-22) tied the game in the seventh on a safety squeeze that scored Alvin Melendez. Melendez reached on a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Nick Labella then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and Melendez scampered home. The Rams then took the lead in the eighth on a Jason Coules RBI double to left center. Jake Baker had led off the inning with a single and scored on Coules’ timely hit. Labella, who led Fordham at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance, picked up his third RBI with a single up the middle to score Matt Tarabek.

Tarabek scored the first run of the game in the second inning on a Labella double to center. The Rams appeared to score their second run in the sixth on a would-be sac fly by Jake MacKenzie, but C.J. Vazquez left third base early, ending the inning.

Dayton then scored twice on Connor Wilson’s fielder’s choice that drove in Riley Tirotta, and a subsequent throwing error allowed Jay Curtis to run home, giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead before Fordham started its rally in the seventh. Takahiro Yamada led the Flyers offensive efforts with a 3-for-4 performance.

Anthony DiMeglio (6-3) got the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits with six strikeouts. Tyler Jones (3-4) took the loss, throwing 2.1 innings with two runs on three hits. Anthony Zimmerman recorded his third save of the year with two hitless innings and two strikeouts.