MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Opening Night Dragons GameDay

Published on April 9, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Thursday, April 9, 2009 Game # 1

Fifth Third Field l Dayton, Ohio l 7:05 p.m.

Television: WHIO Digital Channel 7.2

Radio: 1410 ESPN Radio WING-AM

Great Lakes Loons (0-0) at Dayton Dragons (0-0)

RH Jon Michael Redding (0-4, 5.17 w/Ogden in 2008) vs. LH Matt Fairel (professional debut)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Loons (affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) in the 2009 season-opener for both clubs. This is game one of a three game series.

2008 Season Series: Great Lakes 14, Dayton 12. The Dragons went 7-8 vs. the Loons in Dayton.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Matt Fairel will make his professional baseball debut tonight. Fairel was selected by the Reds in the 35th round in June of 2008 but did not sign in time to play professionally last summer. Fairel enjoyed a great college season last spring at Florida State University, posting a record of 12-2 to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in victories. He was honored as a 2nd Team All-Conference choice and was also named Academic All-Conference. Fairel is a native of Winter Haven, Florida. He is 21-years-old. Fairel is the first left-hander to get the Dragons' opening night starting assignment since Travis Wood in 2006.

Skipper: Todd Benzinger makes his professional baseball managerial debut in 2009. 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. He has enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls' high school basketball since 1999.

Individual Notes

- The Dragons roster includes three players who earned their conference's Player of the Year honor in college and three additional players who have earned similar honors at other levels (see below).

- Dragons outfielder Tyler Stovall is a product of Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Stovall was the 2007 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year at Central Michigan University. He batted .333 at Billings last summer.

- Outfielder David Sappelt was a 2008 semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award (best player in college baseball). He was the 2007 Big South Player of the Year at Coastal Carolina University. He hit .299 at Billings in 2008.

- Third baseman Frank Pfister was the 2008 University Athletic Association Most Valuable Player at Emory University in Georgia. He hit .379 at Emory last season and posted the 16th highest hits total in NCAA Division III history.

- Outfielder Brandon Menchaca was the MVP of the Reds 2007 Florida Instructional League program while pitcher Curtis Partch was the 2008 Reds Instructional League Pitcher of the Year. Infielder-catcher Kyle Day was the 2006 Most Valuable Player of the Jayhawk League, a college summer league.

Team Notes

- Tonight's game marks the start to the Dragons 10th season in the Midwest League.

- The Dragons finished the 2008 season with a record of 66-72. After going 28-40 in the first half, they improved to 38-32 in the second half and swept Lansing in the best-of-three first round playoff series. They fell to South Bend in two straight games in the second round (semi-finals) of the MWL playoffs.

- The Dragons Opening Night roster includes seven players who have previously played for the club. Pitcher Curtis Partch spent the entire 2008 season with the Dragons while pitchers Andrew Bowman, Aguido Gonzalez, Josh Ravin, and Mace Thurman; infielder Humberto Sosa, and outfielder Brandon Menchaca all spent parts of the '08 season with the Dragons. Partch, Bowman, and Menchaca were all on the Dragons 2008 Opening Night roster. Partch, Menchaca, Gonzalez, and Thurman were all members of the Dragons 2008 playoff roster.

- The Dragons roster includes 20 players who played last season with the Billings Mustangs, the Reds Rookie-level affiliate. The Billings team posted a record of 42-32 and won both the first half and second half North Division titles in the Pioneer League.

- The Dragons starting rotation to begin the season will consist of left-hander Matt Fairel followed by four right-handers: Josh Ravin, Curtis Partch, Leonardo Astorga, and Oscar Castro.

- The Dragons plan to slot left-hander Aguido Gonzalez and right-hander Scott Gaffney into late-inning relief roles. The other five relief pitchers, right-handers Mike Bohana, Jordan Hotchkiss, and Lance Janke and left-handers Andrew Bowman and Mace Thurman, will pitch in a variety of relief roles. Bowman and Janke have been primarily starting pitchers previously.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Friday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Josh Ravin (2-8, 7.19 w/Dayton in 2008) vs. Great Lakes RH Bobby Blevins (2-7, 2.96 w/Great Lakes in 2008)

Saturday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Curtis Partch (5-11, 5.00 w/Dayton in 2008) vs. Great Lakes RH Ethan Martin (professional debut)

Monday (7:30 p.m.): Dayton RH Leonardo Astorga (4-1, 2.98 w/Billings in 2008) at Peoria TBA

Tuesday (12:00 noon): Dayton RH Oscar Castro (4-2, 4.14 w/Billings in 2008) at Peoria TBA

Wednesday (7:30 p.m.): Dayton LH Matt Fairel at Peoria TBA

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Midwest League Stories from April 9, 2009


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