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Dragons Top Fort Wayne 7-3 as Playoff Race Remains Tight

June 13, 2026

DRAGONS 7, FORT WAYNE 3 Click here for the box score Dayton (R-H-E): 7-9-0; Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 3-8-0 Win: Reynardo Cruz (2-2); Loss: Jamie Hitt (1-3); Save: None HR: Dayton: Carlos Sanchez (6th, 0 on base in third inning). HR: Fort Wayne: Justin DeCriscio (4th, 0 on base in first

DRAGONS 7, FORT WAYNE 3

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 7-9-0; Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 3-8-0

Win: Reynardo Cruz (2-2); Loss: Jamie Hitt (1-3); Save: None

HR: Dayton: Carlos Sanchez (6th, 0 on base in third inning). HR: Fort Wayne: Justin DeCriscio (4th, 0 on base in first inning); Kavares Tears (6th, 0 on base in fourth inning).

Dayton, Ohio—Carlos Sanchez belted a home run and added a two-run single to lead the Dayton Dragons to a 7-3 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Saturday night.

A crowd of 8,357 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

With the win, the Dragons remained one game behind first place Great Lakes, who won on Saturday night, in the East Division first half playoff race. Great Lakes leads the division with a record of 35-25. Second place Lake County also won and they are 35-26, one-half game out of first. The Dragons are now 35-27. Great Lakes and Lake County have five games to play, one more than the Dragons.

The Dragons can win the division by winning their final four games and getting two losses by both Great Lakes and Lake County.

Game Recap: Fort Wayne got off to the best possible start when the first batter of the game, Justin DeCriscio belted a home run to left field to give the TinCaps a 1-0 lead. The Dragons tied the game in the third on a solo homer by Carlos Sanchez, a 427’ blast to center field that was his sixth home run of the season. Fort Wayne jumped back ahead in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Kavares Tears to make it 2-1.

The Dragons produced a big inning in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good. The rally started when Carter Graham singled to center and Jacob Friend followed with another single up the middle. After Yerlin Confidan walked to load the bases, Alfredo Alcantara lined a single to left-center field to drive in both Graham and Friend and put the Dragons in front, 3-2. Two batters later, Sanchez singled to left field to drive in Confidan and Alcantara to give the Dragons a 5-2 lead.

View the 2-run single by Alcantara here: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/2065952121279668720?s=20

View the 2-run single by Sanchez here: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/2065954080372011246?s=20

Fort Wayne scored a single run in the top of the seventh, but the Dragons responded with two runs in the bottom of the same inning. After an infield single by Alfredo Duno and back-to-back walks to Kien Vu and Carter Graham to load the bases, Jacob Friend hit a high fly ball to the warning track in center field that was lost in the twilight sky by the Fort Wayne outfielder for a double that brought in both Duno and Vu to make it 7-3 and close out the scoring.

View the double by Friend here: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/2065969473400521051?s=20

It was a good night for the Dayton bullpen. Victor Diaz worked three innings, allowing just one run with five strikeouts, and Trent Hodgdon tossed a scoreless ninth inning.

Dragons starting pitcher Reynardo Cruz (2-2) worked five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts to earn the win.

The Dragons finished the night with nine hits. Sanchez and Friend each had two.

Up Next: The Dragons (35-27) conclude their six-game set with Fort Wayne (25-37) on Sunday at 1:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Jose Montero (2-0, 3.20) will start for Dayton. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: Sunday’s Dragons game will be televised in the Dayton market on the Dayton CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013). 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.