Belza Leads South Bend to 11-2 Win over Dragons
July 5, 2012
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South Bend (R-H-E): 11-14-1
Dayton (R-H-E): 2-8-2
WP: Willy Paredes (2-1)
LP: Wes Mugarian (0-1)
Sv: None
HR: Dayton: None
HR: South Bend: Marc Bourgeois (8th, 0 on base in second inning); Kerry Jenkins (2nd, 1 on base in second inning); Bryan Henry (1st, 2 on base in ninth inning).
Dayton, Ohio-Cincinnati native Tom Belza collected four hits and South Bend starting pitcher Willy Paredes tossed five scoreless innings to lead the Silver Hawks to an 11-2 victory over the Dayton Dragons on Thursday night. The two teams have split the first two games of the series with Dayton winning 17-4 on Wednesday.
South Bend belted three home runs including two in the second inning when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Marc Bourgeois hit a solo homer to start the scoring and Kerry Jenkins added a two-run shot later in the inning. South Bend added two more in the fifth and one in the sixth to extend their lead to 6-0.
The Dragons cut into the deficit with one in the sixth and one in the seventh. Juan Silva doubled to start the sixth and eventually scored on Joe Terry's sacrifice fly to make it 6-1. In the seventh, Ryan Wright and Yovan Gonzalez each singled and Wright scored on Silva's sacrifice fly as the Dragons pulled to within four at 6-2.
But Dayton could not score again. South Bend added five runs in the ninth, getting a three-run homer from Bryan Henry, to close out the scoring.
Dragons starting pitcher Wes Mugarian, a 20-year-old prospect making his Midwest League debut, tossed the first four and two-thirds innings. He allowed eight hits and five runs while walking two and striking out three to suffer the loss. Lucas O'Rear replaced Mugarian and pitched effectively, tossing three and one-third innings. He allowed three hits and one run with no walks and four strikeouts. Carlos Contreras started the ninth inning and recorded one out. He was charged with three unearned runs. El'Hajj Muhammad allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning to close out the game.
The Dragons finished the night with eight hits. Yorman Rodriguez went 3 for 4 with a double. Wright had one hit in four at-bats to extend his hitting streak to 13 straight games, the longest of the year for a Dayton player.
The Dragons (4-10) host the Silver Hawks (7-7) again on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in the last game of a three-game series. Stalin Gerson (3-6, 4.78) will start for Dayton against South Bend's Archie Bradley (7-4, 3.79). The Great Lakes Loons visit Dayton for a three-game set starting Saturday. Friday and Saturday night's games will be televised on WHIO Digital Channel 7.2 (Time Warner Cable channels 23 and 372).