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MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons End \'04 Season with 7-4 11 Inning Win

September 6, 2004 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Battle Creek, MI– The Dayton Dragons (21-49, 48-92) looked to end what has been a disappointing 2004 season with a win over the Battle Creek Yankees (38-32, 71-68) on the final day of the 2004 season, knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs. Battle Creek needed a win over the Dragons and a Wisconsin win over Fort Wayne to earn a playoff birth for the eighth consecutive season. Dayton sent 1,714 at C.O. Brown Stadium home unhappy, knocking Battle Creek out of the playoffs for the first time since 1996 with a 7-4 win in 11 innings.

The Yankees had Dayton starter Justin Mallett (ND) on the ropes early but the Dragons right hander was able to pitch his way out of early trouble in both the first and second innings. Battle Creek loaded the bases in the first inning but could only manage one run as Matt Carson picked up a bloop single to center, good for an RBI and a 1-0 lead. Mallet pitched out of a two on two out jam in the second, turning the Yankees away keeping the game at 1-0.

The Dragons did not manage a hit off Battle Creek starter Josh Smith (ND) until the top of the fourth inning. With two down, Chris Kroski banged a double off the wall in deep right center for the first Dragons safety. Smith retired the first eight batters in a row to start off the game until Will Hudson reached on what was ruled a two base error.

Dayton put together a rally in the top half of the fifth inning to take the lead away from the Yankees. Habelito Hernandez picked up a lead off single against Smith and went to third when Tiago Campos picked up a single for back-to-back hits. With first and third, Matt Gray's fielder's choice grounder got the tying run home as Hernandez scored for a 1-1 tie. Dayton continued to hit Smith, as Bolivar knocked in Gray with a RBI double to left for a 2-1 lead. The advantage grew to 3-1 on a RBI single by Cody Strait that scored Bolivar.

Battle Creek got a run back in the home half of the fifth off Mallett. Hector Made picked up the third of his four hits on the day, picking up a leadoff single. With one down, John Urick hammered a Mallett offering over Strait's head in center field, picking up a RBI double to cut the Dayton lead to 3-2.

Trey Rice (ND) replaced Mallett after 7.0 innings of solid baseball by the Dayton starter. The Yankees managed to push the tying run across the plate in the eighth inning, despite a terrible base running blunder that cost them the chance for a two run inning. Pinch hitter Rafael Rodriguez doubled over the head of Strait in center to score pinch runner Enrique Cruz from second to tie the game at 3-3. Rodriguez tried to stretch the double into a triple and was thrown out by five feet for the second out of the inning. The next batter, Tommy Rojas delivered a single which would have scored Rodriguez from second with the go ahead run.

The Dragons put the game out of reach in the top of the 11th inning off Mike Martinez (L, 1-1) with four runs off the Yankees closer. With runners on the corners and two down, Will Hudson slapped an infield single good for an RBI and a 4-3 lead. Bolivar kept the rally rolling with a two run single to center for a 6-3 lead. Strait followed with his second RBI of the day and the lead was 7-3 as Bolivar scored.

Battle Creek picked up a single run in the ninth inning off Justin Knoff (ND) to close the ball game at 7-4. Knoff closed out the game in a non save situation to preserve the third win of the season for Carlos Guevara (W, 3-4).

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Midwest League Stories from September 6, 2004


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