MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Chiefs Edge Dragons 4-3 to Sweep Series

Published on May 12, 2018 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton, Ohio - The Peoria Chiefs erased a three-run deficit and broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the ninth inning to defeat the Dayton Dragons 4-3 on Saturday night before a crowd of 8,788 at Fifth Third Field. The Chiefs swept the three-game series with the Dragons.

Dragons starting pitcher Hunter Greene enjoyed his best outing of the season and was nearly perfect over four scoreless innings. Greene allowed only two base runners, one of whom reached on a misplayed infield popup that was scored as a base hit. Both hits against Greene were singles and he struck out five while walking no one. Greene's fastball reached 100 mph in three of his four innings including his last pitch of the night, a called third strike. Greene threw 57 pitches on the night, and threw almost exclusively fastballs over his first three innings.

The Dragons built a 3-0 lead over the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, Andy Sugilio, in his first game since being placed on the disabled list the second day of the season, belted a two-run home run. Jeter Downs hit a solo homer in the second, his fourth home run of the year.

But the Dragons collected just two hits after the second inning and were held scoreless over the rest of the night. Peoria scored one run in the sixth and two in the seventh to tie the game at 3-3.

The Chiefs broke the tie in the ninth without a ball leaving the infield. Bryce Denton led off the inning with an infield single, went to second on an error by Dayton third baseman Leandro Santana, took third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Dragons got a lead-off walk from Montrell Marshall in the bottom of the ninth but could not advance a runner into scoring position in the inning.

The loss was charged to Dragons reliever John Ghyzel, who worked the ninth inning and allowed the tie-breaking run. He fell to 2-2.

The Dragons have seemingly played better from behind than with the lead in recent games. They have notched 14 comeback wins this season including four games when they trailed by at least three runs, but Saturday's loss was the fifth time that the Dragons have lost a game they led by at least three runs. The Dragons home record when they score the first run of the game is 4-4 compared to 8-2 when the opponent scores the game's first run.

Notes: Prior to Saturday's game, Dragons outfielder Narciso Crook and catcher Morgan Lofstrom were promoted to Daytona, while outfielder Andy Sugilio was activated from the disabled list.

In the Standings: The Dragons record on the year fell to 18-15 with the loss. They are in third place in the Midwest League East Division, three and one-half games behind first place Lansing and three games behind second place Bowling Green.

Up Next: The Dragons do not play on Sunday. They open a big four-game series at Lansing against the Lugnuts on Monday night at 7:05 p.m. The series in Lansing will also include a 10:35 a.m. game on Tuesday before going back to 7:05 starts on Wednesday and Thursday. The Dragons expected starting pitcher on Monday is Andrew Jordan, who spent the entire 2017 season with the Dragons but has not pitched in 2018 due to injury. He will need to be added to the roster on Monday afternoon.

The Dragons next home date is Friday, May 18 when they host the Great Lakes Loons in a doubleheader at Fifth Third Field. The first game will start at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be seven-inning games.

Game Broadcast: All Dragons games are broadcast on radio on Fox Sports 980 WONE and on the internet at wone.com. Games are also available on the Dayton Dragons mobile app.

For Dragons 2018 ticket information, call (937) 228-2287.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from May 12, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central