MWL1 Dayton Dragons

MWL Championship Series Begins Tonight

Published on September 15, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


DAYTON, OH -The 2009 Midwest League championship will be decided this week in a best-of-five series between the Fort Wayne TinCaps and the Burlington Bees. The series begins tonight in Fort Wayne.

The TinCaps posted a regular season record of 94-46, the best mark by any team in Minor League Baseball in six years. The last team in the Minor Leagues to win 94 games was the Lake County Captains of the South Atlantic League in 2003 (the Captains will enter the Midwest League in 2010). Fort Wayne's 94 wins were the most in the Midwest League in 22 years. The Springfield (Ill.) Cardinals went 94-46 in 1987.

In sharp contrast, the Bees, who won the Midwest League championship in 2008, finished 11 games under the .500 mark on the year at 64-75, but reached the playoffs by going 35-34 in the second half to earn the wildcard berth in the Western Division.

Fort Wayne defeated South Bend two-games-to-one to win the Eastern Division first round series while Burlington beat Kane County in two straight games to win the first round in the West. Fort Wayne topped Great Lakes two-games-to-one to win the Eastern Division finals while Burlington beat Cedar Rapids two-games-to-one to win the West finals. Both series finals were decided last night when Fort Wayne edged Great Lakes 4-3 and Burlington defeated Cedar Rapids 2-1.

Fort Wayne and Burlington split their six regular season meetings.

The Dayton Dragons had a huge variation of success against the playoff finalists. The Dragons went 4-2 against Burlington, outscoring the Bees 30-9 in the six meetings. Dayton went 1-18 vs. Fort Wayne.

Burlington's route to the playoffs greatly resembled the Dragons the attempts to reach the post-season. Both teams struggled in the first half (Burlington went 29-41; Dayton was 28-42). Both teams battled for the second half wildcard slot in their respective divisions. While the Bees were able to win the Western Division wildcard, the Dragons came up one game short, losing in 10 innings to South Bend on Friday, September 4th at Fifth Third Field in the game that effectively determined the wildcard winner.

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Midwest League Stories from September 15, 2009


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