Captains Break Tie in 10th Inning, Edge Dragons 2-1 to Prevent Dayton Sweep

Lake County 2, Dragons 1 (10 innings)

Click here for the box score

Lake County (R-H-E): 2-6-0; Dayton (R-H-E): 1-5-0

Win: Magnus Ellerts (3-2); Loss: Simon Miller (0-1); Save: Adam Tullock (1)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Lake County: None

Dayton, Ohio—Lake County’s Angel Genao delivered a two-out, tie-breaking RBI double in the top of the 10^th inning as the Captains defeated the Dayton Dragons 2-1 on Wednesday night. The Lake County win prevented the Dragons from sweeping the three-game series in Dayton.

A crowd of 8,054 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. The start of the game was delayed for one hour, 40 minutes.

Game Summary:

The Dragons got the scoring started in the fifth inning when Leo Balcazar opened the inning with a single to right, stole second, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, and scored on Hector Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly to left field to give Dayton a 1-0 lead.

Lake County quickly tied the game in the top of the sixth inning, collecting a pair of hits with a sacrifice fly to bring in the run.

The Dragons had the go-ahead runner at second base with no outs in both the sixth and seventh innings but could not advance him. In the bottom of the ninth with the score still tied, Dayton’s Ethan O’Donnell lifted a high, deep drive to right field that looked like a potential walk-off home run, but Lake County right fielder Jorge Burgos pulled up at the fence and made the catch.

The Captains pushed across a run in the top of the 10^th on a two-out, run-scoring double by Angel Genao to jump ahead 2-1. In the bottom of the 10^th, the Dragons began the inning with free runner Logan Tanner at second, and Cade Hunter was hit by the first pitch of the frame to put the potential winning run on base. But Hector Rodriguez popped up a bunt attempt and Carlos Jorge popped out to second base for the second out. After Sal Stewart walked on four pitches to load the bases and move the winning run into scoring position, Cam Collier grounded out to the pitcher to end the game.

Dragons starting pitcher Jose Franco was impressive in his sixth start with the team. Franco, coming back from reconstructive elbow surgery, is limited to three innings per start. Franco allowed only one man to reach base, a first inning single, and struck out three.

The Dragons finished with just five hits. Stewart had two doubles. Balcazar also had two hits.

The Dragons are 7-5 in the second half and 41-37 overall. They are one game out of first place in the East Division second half race, trailing first place West Michigan.

Up Next: The Dragons travel to Eastlake, Ohio to battle Lake County on Thursday night at 7:00 pm in the first game of a three-game series. T.J. Sikkema (2-2, 4.13) will start for Dayton against Lake County’s Carter Spivey (5-1, 4.18).

The next home game is Tuesday, July 9 when the Dragons host the South Bend Cubs 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.