Carlos Sanchez Collects 3 Hits, Leads Dragons to 7-3 Win

DRAGONS 7, LAKE COUNTY 3

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Dayton (R-H-E): 7-8-0; Lake County (R-H-E): 3-6-2

Win: (1-0); Dylan Simmons (1-0); Loss: Braylon Doughty (0-1); Save: None

HR: Dayton: None HR: Lake County: None

Dayton, Ohio—Dayton’s Carlos Sanchez collected three hits and drove in two runs to lead the Dragons to a 7-3 victory over the Lake County Captains on Friday night. The Dragons have won two straight games in the series after Lake County won the first two contests.

A crowd of 8,642 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

Game Recap: In the top of the first inning, Lake County got a pair of two-out, run-scoring singles from Aaron Walton and Bennett Thompson to take a quick 2-0 lead.

The Dragons responded with a four-run third inning to take the lead for good. The rally began when Jack Moss reached on a throwing error by the second baseman and Kien Vu followed with a single to right. Carlos Sanchez singled to left to load the bases and Alfredo Duno also singled to left to drive in Moss and make it 2-1. Ryan McCrystal then lined a hit to right field to drive in both Vu and Sanchez and give the Dragons a 3-2 lead as Duno went to third. Duno scored when the next hitter, Yerlin Confidan, grounded into a fielder’s choice with McCrystal out at second to extend the Dayton lead to 4-2.

View McCrystal’s two-run single here: https://twitter.com/DragonsBaseball/status/2042757000065380817?s=20

The Dragons added another run in the fourth when Vu was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second and advanced to third on the same play on the catcher’s throwing error, and scored on a single to right by Sanchez to make it 5-2.

Lake County scored one run in the sixth to trim the Dragons lead to 5-3, but Dayton responded with a scoring inning in the seventh. Vu walked, stole second, and scored on Sanchez’s triple to center, a line drive that got past diving center fielder Jace LaViolette. Sanchez scored from third on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.

View Sanchez’s RBI triple here: https://twitter.com/DragonsBaseball/status/2042776130696917446?s=20

Dragons starting pitcher Cole Schoenwetter threw 35 pitches in the first inning and was likely one batter away from being removed from the game, but he recovered to work two and two-thirds innings, allowing three hits and two runs with two walks and four strikeouts.

Reliever Drew Pestka replaced Schoenwetter and tossed an inning and two-thirds, allowing one hit but no runs with three walks and four strikeouts. Dylan Simmons (1-0) took over for Pestka and got an inning-ending double play against the first batter he faced, stranding a runner at third. Simmons worked two and two-thirds innings, allowing one run on one hit with a walk and four strikeouts to earn the win. Trent Hodgdon fired two scoreless innings to close out the night, allowing one hit and one walk with four strikeouts. He retired six straight batters after the first two men he faced reached base.

The Dragons finished the night with eight hits. In addition to Sanchez’s big night, Vu scored three runs and stole two bases, going 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit batsman.

Notes: Dragons pitchers struck out 16 batters with each of the four Dayton hurlers notching four strikeouts…The Dragons were 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position and have gone 13 for 32 (.406) over the last three games.

Up Next: The Dragons (3-3) host Lake County (3-4) in the fifth game of the six-game series on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark. Beau Blanchard will start for the Dragons against Lake County’s Rafe Schlesinger.

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.