Fort Wayne Battles Back to Defeat Dragons 5-3

Fort Wayne 5, Dragons 3

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Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 5-7-1; Dayton (R-H-E): 3-6-1

Win: Tyler Morgan (1-0); Loss: Myles Gayman (0-3); Save: None

HR: Dayton: None; Fort Wayne: None

Dayton, Ohio—The Fort Wayne TinCaps erased a 3-0 deficit and broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the eighth inning on the way to a 5-3 victory over the Dayton Dragons on Friday night. The TinCaps have won two straight in Dayton after the Dragons won the first two games of the six-game series that will continue Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm.

A crowd of 7,831 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

The Dragons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. In the second inning, Carlos Jorge was hit by a pitch, stole second, and eventually scored on an error to make it 1-0. In the third, Sal Stewart opened the inning with a single. He went to second on a balk, took third on Cam Collier’s ground out to the right side, and scored on a hard single to center field by Ruben Ibarra. Ibarra went to second on Jorge’s infield hit, and eventually scored on a base hit by Cade Hunter to make it 3-0.

Fort Wayne battled back with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.

In the eighth, Fort Wayne took advantage of two walks and a bloop hit to load the bases before Kai Murphy delivered a tie-breaking RBI single against Dragons reliever Myles Gayman (0-3). The TinCaps added another run in the inning to extend their lead to 5-3.

After a promising start to the night at the plate, the Dragons struggled to hit against the Fort Wayne bullpen. TinCaps relievers combined for six scoreless innings without allowing a runner past second base. The last seven Dragons batters and 11 of the last 12 were retired.

Dayton starting pitcher Rhett Lowder, the Reds first round draft pick in 2023, lasted four and one-third innings, allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and one strikeout. The bases on balls hurt Lowder as all three hitters who reached on walks eventually scored.

The Dragons six-hit attack was led by Ibarra, who had two hits and an RBI. Ibarra is 6 for 9 over the last two nights.

Up Next: The Dragons (6-7) host Fort Wayne (6-6) in the fifth game of the series on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark. Jared Lyons (0-1, 6.14) will start for Dayton against Fort Wayne’s Dylan Lesko (0-0, 1.29). 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.