ST. LOUIS – Held down by a strong performance from their pitching staff, the No. 3 seed Dayton Flyers bested the No. 2 seed Saint Louis Billikens, 4-2, at the Betterment A-10 Softball Championship. The Flyers advance to the semifinals at 12 p.m. CT on Friday at Billiken Sports Center.

Neither team scored in the first two innings, but Saint Louis got on the board with Karsen Jany’s solo home run in the third. Dayton senior Molly Grace sent a two-run homer over the  center field fence shortly after, before Soseh Broglin singled in one more run to give the Flyers a 4-1 lead.

Dayton added an insurance score in the sixth, thanks to an RBI single from sophomore Camrynn Linneman. Saint Louis shortened the gap to 4-2 in the seventh inning, but a popout to third base cemented the Flyers’ semifinal appearance.

Linneman earned the win for Dayton, holding the Billikens to one earned run in four innings with four strikeouts. A-10 Pitcher of the Year Izzy Kemp handled the final three innings of relief for the Flyers, allowing one run and zero hits. Isabel Royle pitched all seven innings for Saint Louis, allowing four runs while tallying three strikeouts.

Saint Louis will face No. 5 Saint Joseph’s in an elimination game on Friday at 5:45 p.m. CT at Billiken Sports Center.