Captains Top Dragons 6-2 on Opening Night in Dayton

LAKE COUNTY 6, DRAGONS 2

Click here for the box score

Lake County (R-H-E): 6-6-1; Dayton (R-H-E): 2-9-4

Win: Michael Kennedy (1-0); Loss: Reynardo Cruz (0-1); Save: Sean Matson (1)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Lake County: None

Dayton, Ohio—Four Lake County pitchers combined to scatter nine hits as the Captains defeated the Dayton Dragons 6-2 on Tuesday night. The game marked the 26^th home opening night game for the Dragons.

A crowd of 8,249 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

Dayton’s Carter Graham had a strong night at the plate in a losing effort, collecting three hits.

Game Recap: Lake County starting pitcher Franklin Gomez and reliever Michael Kennedy combined to shutout the Dragons over the first seven innings while the Captains collected some key hits to build a 5-0 lead. The Captains scored one run in the second inning before adding two more in the fourth and two in the sixth.

The Dragons had a great chance to take an early lead in the third inning. Trailing at the time, 1-0, Dayton loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Carter Graham and Kien Vu and a walk to Carlos Sanchez. But Alfredo Duno stuck out looking and Ryan McCrystal grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.

The Dragons went to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 6-0 before managing to get the potential tying run to the on-deck circle before the game ended. Graham opened the inning with his third hit of the night and Vu followed with his second hit. Graham scored from first on Vu’s single coupled with a two-base fielding error by the right fielder. Vu scored on Johnny Ascanio’s ground out to make it 6-2. With two outs and the bases empty, McCrystal singled to center and Alfredo Alcantara walked. Yerlin Confidan batted next, hoping to reach base and bring the tying run to the plate, but he flied out to center field to end the game.

Dragons starting pitcher Reynardo Cruz was charged with the loss in his High-A debut. He worked four innings, allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Jacob Edwards replaced Cruz with a strong long relief performance, striking out eight in four innings while allowing two unearned runs on just two hits with one walk. Trent Hodgdon worked the final inning, allowing one run.

The Dragons nine-hit attack was led by Graham (3 for 4, run scored) and Vu (2 for 5, run scored). Duno had a double and walk. Ascanio had a pinch hit double.

Notes: Dayton out-hit Lake County, 9-6 but the Dragons were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position…Dragons pitchers combined to strike out 14.

Up Next: The Dragons (1-2) host Lake County (2-2) in the second game of the six-game series on Wednesday night at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark. J.P. Ortiz will start for the Dragons.

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.