Dragons Win Third Straight Home Game, 9-6

May 30, 2012

Click Here to see the Box Score

South Bend (R-H-E): 6-12-1
Dayton (R-H-E): 9-9-0

WP: Radhames Quezada (2-6)
LP: Archie Bradley (6-2)
Sv: None

HR: Dayton: Kurtis Muller (3rd, 0 on base in third inning).
HR: South Bend: Marc Bourgeois (5th, 0 on base in fifth inning).

Dayton, Ohio-Kurtis Muller hit a home run and scored three times and Joe Terry added two hits and two runs batted in as the Dayton Dragons defeated the South Bend Silver Hawks 9-6 on Wednesday. A crowd of 8,270 saw the Dragons earn their third straight home victory as they produced their highest single-game run total since April 20.

The Dragons started fast, scoring one run in the first inning, two in the second, and one in the third on Muller's home run to take a 4-0 lead. The homer by Muller was his third in nine games with the Dragons, surpassing his career total of two over his two previous seasons of professional baseball. Muller finished the game with a batting average of .459 in his nine games with the Dragons as he continued to make a huge impact since his arrival from extended spring training.

South Bend's Marc Bourgeois hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth to make it 4-1, but the Dragons answered with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, keyed by a two-out, three-run double by Yovan Gonzalez. Terry and Steve Selsky also had run-scoring singles in the inning as the Dragons jumped ahead 9-1.

South Bend scored four runs in the sixth inning and one more in the ninth to close out the scoring.

The Dragons hit well against South Bend's blue chip prospect Archie Bradley, ranked by some publications among the top 10-15 prospects in all of Minor League Baseball. Bradley, throwing fastballs consistently at 94 miles per hour, worked four and one-third innings and allowed six hits and a career-high nine runs (eight earned) with two walks and one strikeout to absorb the loss.

Dayton starting pitcher Radhames Quezada (2-6) earned the win. He worked the first five innings, allowing five hits and one run with two walks and eight strikeouts. His strikeout total matched the team season-high for 2012 established on two occasions by former Dragon Justice French. Cole Green replaced Quezada and allowed four runs in one inning of work. El'Hajj Muhammad worked two scoreless innings and Ryan Kemp allowed a single run in one inning of work.

The Dragons collected nine hits. Muller and Terry each had two hits. Kyle Waldrop had an RBI double and Gonzalez added the three-run double in the five-run fifth.

The Dragons host the Silver Hawks again Thursday at Fifth Third Field at 7:05 p.m. (Radio: WONE 980 AM; TV: WHIO 7.2, Time Warner Cable 23 & 372) in the second game of a three-game series. Tanner Robles (3-3, 3.98) will start for Dayton against South Bend's John Pedrotty (2-3, 5.37). Both Thursday and Friday night's game will be televised. Former Reds first baseman Todd Benzinger will appear on the telecast on Thursday while Chris Sexton, a former Reds infielder who starred at St. Xavier High School and Miami University, will be on the Friday telecast.