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MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday

April 12, 2010 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Last Night:  Dayton earned its fourth straight win by defeating Bowling Green 8-6 on Sunday.  The Dragons broke a 6-6 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth inning.  The tie-breaking run came in when catcher's interference was called on the Hot Rods' Mark Thomas with the bases loaded and two outs.  Dayton jumped out to a 6-0 lead, scoring five runs in the first inning and one more in the second.  Frank Pfister belted a solo homer in the first for Dayton while Thomas hit one in the sixth for Bowling Green.  The Dragons collected 12 hits including three each by DiDi Gregorius and Andrew Means.  Henry Rodriguez had two doubles.  Nick Christiani retired all eight batters he faced out of the Dayton bullpen to earn the win.  Donnie Joseph pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his second save.

Today's Starting Pitcher:  Jacob Johnson is a 19-year-old native of Lake Worth, Florida.  He was drafted by the Reds in the 11th round in 2009 out of Trinity Christian Academy.  Johnson finished fifth in the 2009 Florida Mr. Baseball voting.  He was named the Florida Class 1A Co-Player of the Year and a 1st Team All-State selection in '09.  Johnson had committed to Wake Forest before signing with Reds.  He enjoyed a good start to his professional career in 2009.  Over his first seven professional outings including five starts, he allowed just three earned runs in 26 innings (1.04 ERA) with the GCL Reds.  He finished the season with a 2.83 ERA and a 2-3 record.

Skipper: Todd Benzinger is in his second season with the Dragons and in the Reds organization as a manager in 2010.  Benzinger enjoyed a nine-year major league playing career from 1987-1995 with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants.  Todd is a former first baseman who recorded the final putout of the 1990 World Series with the Reds to complete their four-game sweep of the Oakland A's.  Benzinger is a native of the Cincinnati area and currently resides in West Chester, Ohio. 

Individual Notes

-            Andrew Means and Henry Rodriguez have each had hits in all four Dragons games this season.

-            DiDi Gregorius leads the Midwest League in hits with nine and ranks fifth in batting average at .450.

-            Andrew Means is tied for second in the league in hits with eight and tied for sixth in batting average at .444.

-            Donnie Joseph is tied with Peoria's Jordan Latham for the league lead in saves with two.  Joseph also has a win.  He leads the league in games pitched with three.

-            Kevin Coddington has hit homers in two of the three games he has played in this season and has hit home runs in four of his last seven games dating back to 2009 after not hitting a home run in '09 until the final week of the season.  He is tied for the league lead in homers with seven others.

-            The Dragons roster includes four players who are ranked among the Reds top 30 prospects by Baseball America.  They include shortstop DiDi Gregorius (#15), pitcher Donnie Joseph (#21), pitcher J.C. Sulbaran (#25) and outfielder Byron Wiley (#29).

Team Notes

-            The Dragons have opened the year with four straight wins for just the second time in franchise history.  The first time was 2007, when they went 9-0 to start the year.

-            The Dragons and the Lake County Captains are the only two undefeated teams among the 16 clubs in the Midwest League.

-            In three of the Dragons four games, the score has been tied going to the ninth inning.

-            The Dragons have hit home runs in each of their four games. 

-            The Dragons have not trailed by more than one run at any time this season.

-            The Dragons have had at least nine hits and scored at least four runs in each of their four games.

-            The Dragons have outscored their opponents by a total of five runs in their four wins (three one-run wins; one two-run win).

-            The Dragons roster includes 14 players who have previously played for the club.  Catcher Kevin Coddington and outfielder Byron Wiley each spent the entire 2009 season with the Dragons.  Pitchers Ezequiel Infante, Donnie Joseph, Junior Martinez, Josh Ravin, J.C. Sulbaran, Justin Walker, and Chase Ware; catcher Jordan Wideman; infielders Kevyn Feiner, and Frank Pfister; and outfielders Andrew Means and Alex Oliveras all spent part of 2009 with the Dragons.  Coddington, Wiley, Wideman, Pfister, and Ravin were all on the Dragons '09 opening night roster.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Tuesday (12:05 p.m.):  Dayton RH Josh Ravin (0-0, 4.91) at Bowling Green RH Alex Colome (0-1, 18.00)

Wednesday (7:05 p.m.):  Dayton RH Pedro Villarreal (0-0, 1.80) at Fort Wayne RH Jerry Sullivan (1-0, 1.80)

Thursday (7:05 p.m.):  Dayton RH Brian Pearl (0-0, 1.93) at Fort Wayne LH Mike Watt (0-0, 1.50)

Friday (7:05 p.m.):  Dayton RH J.C. Sulbaran (0-0, 5.40) at Fort Wayne RH Dexter Carter (0-1, 3.60)

Saturday (7:00 p.m.):  Dayton RH Jacob Johnson vs. South Bend TBA

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from April 12, 2010


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