Dragons Fall 8-1, Drop Out of Wildcard Lead

Lansing 8, Dragons 1

Click here for the box score

Dayton, Ohio-Lansing starting pitcher Brad Allen allowed just one hit over six strong innings as the Lugnuts defeated the Dayton Dragons 8-1 on Friday night at Fifth Third Field. A crowd of 8,657 attended the game, the final regular season home contest for the Dragons. The Dragons finished the season with an attendance total of 573,709.

Despite the loss, the Dragons are still in the race for the Midwest League East Division Second Half wildcard spot with only three games to play. The Dragons trail the Great Lakes Loons by one-half game. The Dragons are now tied with Fort Wayne and Lansing in the wildcard standings.

The Dragons took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Robert Ramirez delivered a one-out single to right field to drive in Jamodrick McGruder from second base. But Lansing scored two in the second, one in the third, and two more in the fourth to jump out to a 5-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Allen did not allow another hit after the first inning single by Ramirez until he left the ballgame after the sixth. He retired 13 straight batters at one point. The Lugnuts scored three in the top of the seventh to break the game open at 8-1.

Dragons starting pitcher Sal Romano (8-11) worked five innings, allowing nine hits and five runs (four earned) with two walks and three strikeouts to suffer the loss.

The Dragons (30-37) travel to Eastlake, Ohio to open a three-game series with the Lake County Captains (37-29) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Nick Travieso (13-5, 3.10) will start for the Dragons against Dace Kime (7-13, 4.93).  

All Dragons games can be heard on WONE Radio (980 AM) and via the internet at wone.com and through the Dragons Mobile App.

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