A Friday night home win against West Fork? That one felt good for many reasons.
It took Dayton until March 14 to play in front of friendly faces at home and the Broncos took care of business with a 7-2 win over the Gators. The victory was Dayton’s first of the season in District 18-5A and it broke up a five-game losing streak in the process.
Junior pitcher Sebastian Avila was on point all night with 13 strikeouts, a season-high. Things got a little muddy a couple times with three walks and two earned runs allowed, but West Fork was held to just five hits. Avila also provided two doubles and two RBIs at the plate.
Luke Ressler sparked Dayton (6-11, 1-1) with a two-run double in the second inning. Ivan Lopez also had two RBIs while Peyton Trahan drove in a run.
Three nights earlier, Hunter Wallace pitched well enough to win at West Fork, but the Gators took a 3-2 victory.
Wallace struck out seven and allowed four hits and three earned runs. Zak Wood doubled and had an RBI while Andrew Soliz also brought home a run.
As fun as it was getting district play underway last week, the Broncos are on a bye this week.
Dayton will stay busy, however, as Livingston of District 19-4A is also on a bye and the teams will play a home-and-home series this week.
Dayton hosts Tuesday and travels to the Lions Friday. Both games are at 7 p.m.
There isn’t much history with Livingston to speak of. According to MaxPreps, this is the first meeting between the two since 2014.
Dayton’s Luke Ressler, left, and Braden Gutirerez, right are seen in a game earlier this season. (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
