Fort Wayne Scores 6 in 8th to Erase Dragons Lead, Top Dayton 8-4

Fort Wayne 8, Dragons 4

Click here for the box score

Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 8-8-1; Dayton (R-H-E): 4-7-2

Win: Eiker Huizi (1-0); Loss: Nick Sando (0-2); Save: None

HR: Dayton: Ariel Almonte (1^st, 2 on base in fifth inning). HR: Fort Wayne: None

Dayton, Ohio—The Fort Wayne TinCaps scored six runs in the eighth inning to come from behind and defeat the Dayton Dragons 8-4 on Tuesday night, the home Opening Night contest for the Dragons in 2025 and the start to the Dragons 25^th home season.

A crowd of 7,223 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

Game Summary:

The Dragons broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning when Ariel Almonte connected on a three-run home run to center field, the first homer of the season for the Dragons. Almonte’s home run gave Dayton a 4-1 lead.

Dayton starting pitcher Nestor Lorant continued a string of four straight outstanding performances by a Dragons opening hurler. Lorant became the first Dragons pitcher to go five innings this season, allowing one run on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Lorant, the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2024, threw 75 pitches in his outing and left the game with a 4-1 lead.

But the Dayton bullpen struggled over the remainder of the game. After Graham Osman worked a scoreless sixth inning, Fort Wayne got to Osman for a run in the seventh to make it 4-2. Osman was replaced with two men on base and two outs by Nick Sando, who got a strikeout to end the inning. But Sando had problems in the eighth, allowing a lead-off walk and RBI triple to make it 4-3. The next hitter reached on a mis-played fly ball by Dayton center fielder Carlos Jorge that went for a double and tied the game. Sando was replaced by Jimmy Romano, who allowed two hits, two walks, and a wild pitch that allowed a run to score as Fort Wayne extended their lead to 8-4.

The Dragons loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth inning, but Trey Faltine’s long fly ball to center field was caught at the edge of the warning track to end the threat. The Dragons put two men on base in the ninth but could not get the tying run to the plate.

The Dragons finished with seven hits. Ricardo Cabrera had two hits and also reached base on a hit batsman. Anthony Stephan had a double and two walks. The Dragons drew nine walks and had runners in scoring position in all nine innings but went just 2 for 17 with men in scoring position.

Notes: Dayton starting pitchers have allowed just two runs on the season over 16 innings, but the Dragons bullpen has surrendered 24 runs in 20.1 innings, twice allowing opponents to overcome three-run Dayton leads to win.

Up Next: The Dragons host Fort Wayne in the second game of the six-game series on Wednesday night at 7:05 pm. Jose Montero will make his first start for the Dragons. Fort Wayne will counter with Clark Candiotti, the son of longtime major league pitcher Tom Candiotti. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets.

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.