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MWL Dayton Dragons

Dragons' Pitchers Cardona & Bell Allow Just One Hit In 4-0 Victory Over Lake County

July 2, 2024 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton, Ohio - Dayton starting pitcher Ryan Cardona fired six no-hit innings and Cade Hunter hit a home run as the Dragons defeated the Lake County Captains 4-0 on Tuesday night. The Dragons have won the first two games in the series and have been victorious in seven of their last eight games overall.

A crowd of 8,389 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. The game was played in exactly two hours, making it the shortest nine-inning game the Dragons have played in 2024.

Cardona and reliever Brock Bell combined on a one-hit shutout, the fewest hits allowed by the Dragons in a nine-inning game since May 24, 2022.

Game Summary:

The Dragons opened the scoring with two runs in the third inning. Cade Hunter was hit by a pitch with one out and advanced to second on a single to right field by Hector Rodriguez. Carlos Jorge followed with a triple to center field to drive in both Hunter and Rodriguez and make it 2-0.

The Dragons added another run in the sixth inning when Sal Stewart singled, went to second on an error, and scored on Ethan O'Donnell's two out single to left to make it 3-0.

In the bottom of the seventh, Dayton's Cade Hunter blasted a solo home run to right field, his fifth homer of the season, to give the Dragons a 4-0 lead.

View the Hunter home run here: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1808305281975439409

Ryan Cardona faced only one batter over the minimum in his six innings, allowing two walks, but getting a double play ball to erase one base runner. He struck out three to earn the win and improve to 4-4. He gave credit to his catcher for pitch calling.

"Cade Hunter had a day today," said Cardona. "He called a great game. In the pregame meeting that we had between the pitchers and catchers, trust your catcher. Go with his lead, and it worked out perfectly. The defense played tremendous. I'd say out of all the wins this year, this is the absolute biggest team win. The ball was in play a lot and a lot of people made plays. It was great."

Bell replaced Cardona in the seventh and allowed a lead-off walk before striking out the second hitter of the inning. The next Lake County batter, Jorge Burgos, delivered a hit-and-run single to center field, a clean single, and the only hit the Captains could muster in the game. With runners at first and third and one out, Jake Fox flied out to Ethan O'Donnell in right field. The runner at third tagged and attempted to score, but O'Donnell made a perfect throw to the plate and the catcher, Hunter, applied the tag for a double play. Bell did not allow a hit over the final two innings.

Jorge had two hits and drove in two runs to lead the Dayton offense.

The Dragons are 7-4 in the second half and 41-36 overall. Their full-season record is five games above .500 for the first time in 2024.

"I think we're just having fun," said Cardona. "We're pretty loose. The first half was the first half. We know that we can't do anything about the first half. We're kind of locked in on the second half. We want to win the second half, no doubt about it. We want to show the Reds that some of the best players in the organization are in Dayton right now. We're just going to keep doing it. And obviously, the coaching staff is tremendous."

Up Next: The Dragons host Lake County at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District in the last game of the series on Wednesday at the special start time of 5:35 pm. Jose Franco (0-1, 4.80) will start for Dayton against Lake County's Rorik Maltrud (1-0, 1.80). 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.

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