FAIRFAX, Va. – Despite falling behind early, fourth-seeded Saint Louis (22-27) completed a late comeback effort throughout the opening contest of the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship against No. 5 overall Dayton (19-23), scoring seven unanswered runs across the final four innings of action en route to a 7-3 victory Wednesday afternoon at the George Mason Softball Complex.

With the victory, the Billikens advance to Thursday's early afternoon contest within the winner's bracket, squaring off against top-seeded George Washington at noon ET at the George Mason Softball Complex. Dayton, meanwhile, moves into the consolation bracket and will battle the loser of game two between No. 3 Saint Joseph's and sixth-seeded Massachusetts. Both contests will be broadcast live via ESPN+.

The Flyers opened the matchup with some serious energy, grabbing an early advantage behind a first-inning RBI single from Grace Gressly before tacking on another two runs via four consecutive two-out singles later in the third frame.

Saint Louis, however, managed to swing the momentum back its direction via a mid-game pitching adjustment, substituting freshman Taylor Hochman into the circle with two on and just one out midway through the fourth; the rookie ace managed to escape danger, initially walking A-10 Rookie of the Year Emma Schutter before inducing a force out at home via a groundball and a full-count strikeout.

The bottom of the frame saw the Billiken offense come alive for the first time, as a two-RBI triple from Allie Herron closed the gap before a sacrifice fly drove her home, knotting the contest at three apiece. Sadie Wise broke the deadlock in SLU's favor just an inning later, plating Gabbie Kowalik behind a mishandled single in right field before a Jane Kaniecki line drive added an insurance score.

A Kristi Stevenson double in the sixth concluded the unanswered scoring barrage for Saint Louis.

For the contest, Hochman (7-11) picked up the W behind her 4.2 innings of work for the Billikens, surrendering just two walks with no hits for zero runs. Kelsey Gumm (9-8) was saddled with the loss for Dayton, tossing 4.1 frames within the circle with five runs given up on five hits with three strikeouts.