Dragons Win 6-4 in Fort Wayne, Remain One-Half Game out of First Place

Dragons 6, Fort Wayne 4

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 6-12-1; Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 4-9-1

Win: Kevin Abel (1-1); Loss: Robby Snelling (4-2); Save: Dennis Boatman (1)

HR: Dayton: None; HR: Fort Wayne: None

Fort Wayne, Ind.—Cade Hunter delivered a two-run double and Jack Rogers collected three hits to lead the Dayton Dragons to a 6-4 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the opener to a six-game series on Tuesday night.

The Dragons remained one-half game behind first place West Michigan in the Midwest League’s East Division. Fort Wayne fell to third place, one and one-half games out of first. There are 23 games to play in the second half season.

The Dragons produced an effective 12-hit attack in the first game of the important series in Fort Wayne. They fell behind 1-0 in the first inning but battled back and led 2-1 through six frames before scoring four in the seventh to take a commanding 6-1 lead. After Fort Wayne scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, Dragons reliever Dennis Boatman entered the game to work the final two innings, retiring six of seven batters faced including four strikeouts to earn his first save of the year.

Trailing 1-0 in the second, Dayton’s Edwin Arroyo delivered a two-out single to drive in Justice Thompson and tie the game. Then in the third, Rogers doubled with two outs and scored on a single by Ruben Ibarra to make it 2-1.

Meanwhile, Dragons starting pitcher Kevin Abel settled in after allowing a run in the first and kept Fort Wayne from scoring again until he was replaced by Jayvien Sandridge with two men on base and no outs in the sixth. Sandridge worked out of trouble to hold the 2-1 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Arroyo and Sal Stewart produced back-to-back singles to start the inning, and Hunter followed with a double to the base of the center field fence to drive in two and give the Dragons a 4-1 lead. Rogers followed with a single to center to drive in Hunter and make it 5-1. Rogers then stole second, went to third on an error, and scored on Tyler Callihan’s single to make it 6-1.

Fort Wayne took advantage of a couple defensive miscues in the bottom of the seventh to score three runs and make it 6-4, but Boatman shut down the Fort Wayne offense over the final two innings to close out the Dragons win. Dayton has now won four of its last five games. The Dragons are 15-7 over their last 22 games.

Along with the three hits by Rogers, the Dragons got two hits apiece from Arroyo, Callihan, and Ibarra. They have collected at least 10 hits in five of their last six games.

Abel (1-1) earned the win, going five innings and allowing one run on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Up Next: The Dragons (24-19, 57-52) play at Fort Wayne (23-20, 55-54) on Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. Chris McElvain (1-1, 5.47) is scheduled to start for Dayton.

The next home game at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District is Tuesday, August 22 when the Dragons host the Lansing Lugnuts at 7:05 p.m. 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.