O'Donnell's Home Run Keys Dragons' Comeback Win Over Fort Wayne, 5-4

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MWL Dayton Dragons

O'Donnell's Home Run Keys Dragons' Comeback Win Over Fort Wayne, 5-4

July 24, 2024 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton, Ohio - Ethan O'Donnell belted a game-changing two-run home run as the Dayton Dragons battled back from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat the Fort Wayne TinCaps 5-4 on Wednesday night. The Dragons have won the first two games in the series.

A crowd of 7,620 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

With the win, the Dragons finished the night with a three-game lead over second place Lansing in the second half playoff race with 40 games still to play. Lansing overtook West Michigan to move into second place on Wednesday afternoon with a win over the Whitecaps. Dayton improved their second half record to 16-10 (9-2 at home).

Game Summary:

For the second straight night, Fort Wayne enjoyed a multi-run top of the first inning. After scoring two in the first on Tuesday, Fort Wayne plated three in the first on Wednesday. The Dragons responded in the bottom of the first with a lead-off home run by Carlos Jorge, his 12th homer of the year, to make it 3-1. Jorge had also homered in the series opener on Tuesday.

View the Jorge home run here: https://twitter.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1816255555591160238

The Dragons scored a single run in the third when Jorge walked, stole second, and scored on a bloop double by Hector Rodriguez to make it 3-2.

The Dragons took the lead in the fourth. Logan Tanner walked to start the inning and Ethan O'Donnell followed with a home run down the right field line to give Dayton a 4-3 lead. Leo Balcazar restarted the rally with a single to left, stole second, and scored on Cade Hunter's single to right to make it 5-3.

View the O'Donnell home run here: https://twitter.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1816266776084087048

"Props to Logan (Tanner) there," said O'Donnell of his home run. "He worked a good at bat before. I saw a couple of pitches, took some things from the first at bat. I was looking for a heater and got one. Logan helped me out there."

Fort Wayne scored in the sixth inning to pull to within one run and had a great chance to tie the game or take the lead. After Ethan Salas delivered a run-scoring single to make it 5-4, the TinCaps loaded the bases with one out. But Dayton reliever Easton Sikorski got Anthony Vilar to ground into an inning-ending double play to preserve the lead.

Sikorski pitched a perfect seventh inning before Simon Miller came on to work the final two frames. Miller allowed a one-out single in the eighth but stranded the runner at third base. In the ninth, Miller gave up a one-out walk but retired the next two hitters to earn his second save.

Dragons starter Ryan Cardona bounced back after allowing three runs in the first and did not allow another hit over the remainder of his outing. He reached his pitch limit after four and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

The Dragons finished with eight hits. Jorge and Balcazar each had two hits. The Dragons have scored 17 runs over the first two games of the series with Fort Wayne after scoring just four runs in the their previous four games combined.

"Just having fun every day, trying to get better," said O'Donnell. "It's a great group of guys here. When you look around, this crowd is amazing. When you have a good team, good staff, good fans and community, it's easy to go out and play hard every day."

Up Next: The Dragons will host Fort Wayne in the third game of the six-game series on Thursday at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Brian Edgington (1-0, 7.20) will start for Dayton against Fort Wayne's Jagger Haynes (2-5, 4.30). 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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