Dragons Lose Lead in 9th, Fall to West Michigan, 11-10
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dragons Lose Lead in 9th, Fall to West Michigan, 11-10

Published on June 5, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Grand Rapids, Mich. -The West Michigan Whitecaps scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to erase a two-run deficit and defeat the Dayton Dragons 11-10 on Friday night. The two teams have split the first four games in the six-game series.

Dayton's Carter Graham enjoyed a huge game in a losing effort, blasting two home runs and driving in five runs while collecting three hits on the night to take over the league lead in batting average at .329.

With the loss, the Dragons dropped to two games behind first place Great Lakes in the East Division first half race with 11 games to play. Third place Lake County won their third straight game and pulled to within a half-game of the Dragons to make it a three-team race.

Game Recap: The Dragons took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Carter Graham connected on a solo home run, his eighth homer of the season and first of the night. West Michigan responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth against Dayton starter David Lorduy to jump into the lead, 4-2.

Graham blasted a grand slam home run in the fifth to give himself a two-homer game and put the Dragons back in front, 6-4. The Whitecaps pushed across a single run in the bottom of the fifth to pull back to within a run at 6-5.

There was no more scoring until the Dragons tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth, with one run coming on a wild pitch and the other on a bases loaded walk as Dayton increased its lead to 8-5. But the Whitecaps collected four hits and scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth against Dayton reliever Beau Blanchard to tie the game at 8-8.

Dayton again jumped in front in the top of the ninth with two more runs. Kien Vu led off the inning with a double and eventually scored on a balk after stealing third. Later in the inning, Jacob Friend delivered a run-scoring single to give the Dragons a 10-8 lead going to the bottom of the ninth.

Dragons reliever Stephen Quigley entered the game to try to notch the save, but he allowed hits to four of the first five batters in the inning, all singles, as West Michigan tied the game and advanced the winning run to third with one out. Graham Osman replaced Quigley and issued an intentional walk to load the bases before Andrew Sojka delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly to center field to bring in the third run of the inning.

The Dragons finished with 11 hits. Along with Graham's huge game, Vu, Friend, and John Michael Faile each had two hits.

Up Next: The Dragons (31-24) continue their six-game series in Grand Rapids, Michigan against the Whitecaps (18-37) with the fifth game of the set on Saturday night at 6:50 pm. Ovis Portes (1-1, 7.20) will start for Dayton against West Michigan's Rayner Castillo (0-5, 6.55).

The next Dragons home game is Tuesday, June 9 when the Dragons host the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the start to a six-game series at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on FOX Sports 980 AM WONE. Games can be heard on smart phones, iPads, and other mobile devices via the free Dragons Mobile App, or on a computer at wone.com. Games are also available on HD Radio on 104.7 WTUI HD 2.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from June 5, 2026


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