Dragons Fall to Captains 8-5 on Wednesday

Lake County 8, Dragons 5
                                                
Dayton (R-H-E): 5-8-2
Lake County (R-H-E): 8-9-2
Win: Gregori Vasquez (2-2)
Loss: Adrian Rodriguez (3-2)
Save: Cameron Mingo (2)
HR: Dayton: None
HR: Lake County: Will Benson, 2 (10th, 3 on base in first inning; 11th, 0 on base in eighth inning); Ernie Clement (1st, 0 on base in fourth inning).
Eastlake, Ohio-Lake County's Will Benson, the Cleveland Indians first round draft pick in 2016, blasted two home runs including a grand slam as the Captains topped the Dayton Dragons 8-5 on Wednesday night. The Captains have won the first two games of the three-game series that will conclude on Thursday night.
Benson moved into a tie for the league lead in home runs with 11 on the year. He belted the grand slam in the first inning and added a solo homer in the eighth.
The Dragons trailed 7-0 through the first four innings and did not have a hit against Lake County starting pitcher Gregori Vasquez, but they exploded for five runs in the fifth. Hendrik Clementina singled to start the inning and with one out, Miles Gordon reached on an error. Leandro Santana singled in Clementina to make it 7-1, and Jose Garcia walked to load the bases. Jeter Downs followed with a double to the left field fence to drive in Gordon and Santana as the Dragons pulled to within four at 7-3. Andy Sugilio followed with an infield single that drove in Garcia to make it 7-4, and Downs scored on Michael Beltre's sacrifice fly to draw the Dragons to within two at 7-5.
But the Dragons could not score again against Lake County pitching. They had four hits over the final four innings but could not deliver the big hit to pull closer. Benson's solo homer in the eighth closed out the scoring.
Dragons starting pitcher Adrian Rodriguez was victimized by a defensive mistake in the first inning that would have gotten him out of the inning without a run scoring, but the Captains took advantage of the miscue by scoring five runs including the grand slam by Benson. Rodriguez went three and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
Dragons reliever Wendolyn Bautista had a good night, going four and one-third innings and allowing just one run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
The Dragons collected eight hits. Clementina and Santana each had two. The Dragons had two extra base hits, both doubles, by Clementina and Downs.
The Dragons fell to 29-28 on the year. They are 22-10 at home, but just 7-18 on the road.

Notes: On Wednesday afternoon, the Midwest League announced the rosters for the 2018 MWL All-Star game in Lansing on June 19. Five Dragons were selected including catcher Hendrik Clementina, who will start for the East Division team as the designated hitter. Outfielder Stuart Fairchild, first baseman Montrell Marshall, and pitchers John Ghyzel and Cory Thompson.
Up Next: The Dragons close out the three-game series at Lake County against the Captains on Thursday night at 7:00. Packy Naughton (3-5, 4.83) will start for Dayton against Lake County's Francisco Perez (3-3, 3.93).
The Dragons next home game is Friday, June 8 vs. Bowling Green. The Dragons starting pitching rotation in the four-game series with Bowling Green is scheduled to include Tyler Mondile on Friday, Hunter Greene on Saturday, Andrew Jordan on Sunday, and Adrian Rodriguez on Monday.
Game Broadcast: All Dragons games are broadcast on radio on Fox Sports 980 WONE and on the internet at wone.com. Games are also available on the Dayton Dragons mobile app.
For Dragons 2018 ticket information, call (937) 228-2287.