MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Erase 5-0 Deficit, Win 8-6

Published on July 14, 2016 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton, Ohio-Luis Gonzalez lined a tie-breaking two-run double to right field in the eighth inning to cap a big comeback as the Dayton Dragons defeated the Beloit Snappers 8-6 on Thursday night. The largest crowd of the season, 9,345, attended the game at Fifth Third Field.

Beloit jumped out to a 5-0 lead, scoring three runs in the second and two more in the fourth. But the Dragons battled back. In the fifth, Zack Shields singled with one out and eventually scored on Brantley Bell's two-out single. Nick Senzel walked and Kevin Franklin followed with a hard grounder over the first base bag for a double to bring in both Bell and Senzel to make it 5-3.

Beloit scored one run in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 6-3, but the Dragons battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Chris Okey walked to start the inning and went to second on Shane Mardirosian's single. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and Luis Gonzalez doubled off the center field fence to drive in Okey and make it 6-4. Shields followed with a single over third to bring in both Mardirosian and Gonzalez to tie the game.

In the seventh, Tyler Stephenson walked with one out and went to second on a two-out walk to Mardirosian. Gonzalez following with a liner to the right field corner that brought on both runners to give the Dragons an 8-6 lead.

Relievers Manuel Aybar and Ryan Hendrix combined to work the eighth inning, and Sarkis Ohanian pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save. Aybar (2-5) was credited with the win, going two scoreless innings and striking out five.

Dragons starting pitcher Jacob Constante endured two rough innings over the course of his brief outing. He worked three and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

The Dragons collected 10 hits. Gonzalez, Shields, and Okey each had two. Gonzalez drove in three runs while Shields and Franklin each drove in two.

The game marked the first time this season that the Dragons have won a game in which they trailed by more than three runs at any time during the game.

The Dragons have won their last three games and will try for a season-high four-game winning streak on Friday. They have scored at least four runs in seven of their last eight games, a massive improvement after averaging 2.8 runs per game in the month of June. The Dragons also broke a streak on Thursday in which they had lost 15 consecutive games when the opponent scored more than three runs.

The Dragons (8-12, 29-61) and Snappers (10-11, 42-48) close out the series at Fifth Third Field on Friday at 7:07 p.m. as the Dragons try for their first series sweep of the season. Ty Boyles (2-4, 5.12) will start for the Dragons against Beloit's Michael Murray (3-2, 4.53).

The game will be televised on Dayton's CW (Channel 26; Time Warner Cable channels 13 and 1013. WDTN TV-2 Weekend Sports Anchor Hutch Konerman will serve as guest commentator.

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.

Tom Nichols Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball Team Fifth Third Field 220 N. Patterson Blvd. Dayton, OH 45402 Phone: (937) 228-2287, ext. 140

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Midwest League Stories from July 14, 2016


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