BRONX, N.Y. – Guided by a gutsy in-circle performance from A-10 Rookie of the Year Izzy Kemp, third-seeded Dayton staved off elimination in a late second round rematch against No. 6 overall Rhode Island during the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship, shutting out the Rams behind a 6-0 margin early Thursday evening at Bahoshy Field.

With the win, the Flyers earn the right to face top-seeded Saint Louis in Friday's mid-afternoon elimination clash, first pitch slated for 2:30 pm.

In the circle, Kemp (13-7) maintained relative order throughout her complete game shutout, surrendering just five hits for zero runs while setting down 10 batters on strikes in the process. Rhody, meanwhile, relied primarily on Katie Zaun (8-12) for 4.0 frames of action before Liz Lynchard took over for 1.1 and Piper Maguire for the final 0.2, totaling eight hits for six runs with three strikeouts.

Dayton got on the board with four runs in the third, initially plating one following an outfield collision before a Schutter RBI double and back-to-back RBI groundouts vaulted the Flyers into a 4-0 lead. A Weekley double combined wiht a Kaelene Walter RBI single concluded the scoring for both teams in the sixth.