Fort Wayne Breaks 5-5 Tie in 9th Inning to Top Dragons 7-5 on Saturday Afternoon

Fort Wayne 7, Dragons 5

Click here for the box score

Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 7-12-0; Dayton (R-H-E): 5-6-1

Win: David Morgan (1-0); Loss: Brock Bell (1-1); Save: Manuel Castro (2)

HR: Dayton: Cam Collier (6^th, 1 on base in third inning). Fort Wayne: Lucas Dunn (1^st, 0 on base in fourth inning); Devin Ortiz (2^nd, 1 on base in ninth inning).

Dayton, Ohio—Fort Wayne’s Devin Ortiz hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to break a 5-5 tie and the TinCaps defeated the Dayton Dragons 7-5 on Saturday afternoon. The Dragons will need a win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon to split the six-game set. Fort Wayne has won three straight in the series after Dayton won the first two games.

A crowd of 8,616 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

Dayton’s Cam Collier blasted another home run, his fourth in five games in the series, and his Midwest League-leading sixth of the season. Collier’s home run came in the third inning and gave the Dragons a 3-1 lead at the time.

Cam Collier barrels one up for his league leading 6th home run of the year! 🔥🔥🔥 #feelthefire pic.twitter.com/VYcWLLnFs5

— Dayton Dragons (@DragonsBaseball) April 20, 2024

After Collier’s home run, Fort Wayne scored four unanswered runs and built a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, Dayton rallied to tie the game. Sal Stewart walked with two outs and the bases empty, and Collier drilled a double to right field to move Stewart to third. After Ruben Ibarra walked to load the bases, Carlos Jorge lined a double to right to drive in Stewart and Collier and tie the game at 5-5. With Ibarra at third and Jorge at second, Leo Balcazar struck out to end the inning, setting the stage for Ortiz’s two-run homer in the ninth.

The Dragons six-hit attack was led by Collier and Jorge. Collier had a homer, double, and two runs batted in to give him 18 on the season, most in the Midwest League. Jorge had two doubles and two RBI.

Dragons starting pitcher Jared Lyons worked three and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts. The loss was charged to the last of four Dayton pitchers, Brock Bell (1-1), who pitched the final two innings, allowing two runs on two hits.

Up Next: The Dragons (6-8) host Fort Wayne (7-6) in the last game of the series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark. Javi Rivera (0-0, 7.11) will start for Dayton against Fort Wayne’s Braden Nett (0-0, 27.00). For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: Sunday's game will be televised in the Miami Valley on Dayton's 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.