DAYTON, Ohio - The host University of Dayton Flyers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and held on against a late rally from the Indiana State University baseball team to take the opening game of the Dayton Classic by a score of 8-4 on Friday afternoon at Time Cable Stadium in front of 135 fans.

The Flyers (5-8) plated three runs (one earned) in the bottom of the second inning, one more in the fourth and three more in the fifth to win their 2010 home opener.

Indiana State (7-5) would attempt a comeback over the final three innings, scoring one run in the seventh and three more in the eighth, before Dayton closed out the game.

Freshman Steve Ball singled to lead off the seventh and advanced to second on an error by Dayton. Ball would move up to third when the next batter, junior Levi Ferguson, reached base on a bunt single to third. Ball would cross the plate to make the score 7-1 when senior pinch hitter Grant Grgurich grounded into a double play.

The Sycamores would cut the lead to 7-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth with three more runs in the top of the inning. With one out, senior Luke Fieser hit a single up the middle and would advance to third on a single by senior Tyler Graham and a fielding error by the Flyers. Fieser crossed the plate and Graham would move up to third base on a RBI single by freshman Robby Ort. Graham would score the final run of the inning on a wild pitch from UD starter Burny Mitchem (1-4).

Junior Jacob Petricka (1-3) started the game for the Sycamores, tossing 4.2 innings on the mound. Petricka struck out three batters, while allowing four walks, eight hits and seven runs (five earned). Senior Scott Harlan, sophomore Brandon Dorsett and sophomore Brandon Flora combined to pitch the final 3.1 innings on Friday, allowing just two Dayton hits.

Indiana State will play a doubleheader on Saturday against Wright State on WSU's campus. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., with senior left-handed pitcher Joe Rodriguez and junior righty Jason Van Skike starting for the Sycamores. The games can be heard live online at http://www.indstate.edu/wisu with live stats on GoSycamores.com.