Dragons vanquish Cubs 6-5 in series opener

South Bend, IN: Much like each game against the West Michigan Whitecaps in the previous series, the South Bend Cubs out-hit their opponent. Against the Dayton Dragons on Thursday night, the Cubs controlled the first three innings, but five straight Dragons runs through the middle innings led the Cubs to the series opening loss. 

With Midwest League All-Star Brendan King taking the mound for his third start with the club, South Bend aimed to bring their second half record against the Dragons to 5-0 after sweeping them in four games at Fifth Third Field. The Dragons got on the board early in the 1^st inning at 1-0, but that was quickly answered by South Bend with the tying run in the bottom of the 1^st. 
Taking complete control in the bottom of the 3^rd inning, South Bend plated three runs on four straight base hits against starter Tyler Mondile. With Mondile being knocked out of the game after just three innings, South Bend looked to be in position to win their 39^th game of the year.
Possessing the commanding 4-1 lead heading to the 4^th, Dayton began to climb back against King. The right hander did not record an out in the frame and needed the help of the bullpen to get out of the inning. Reliever Enrique De Los Rios allowed two runs in the 4^th that both were charged to King. 
Dayton did not miss a beat in the 5^th either. Scoring two more runs in the 5^th inning, along with another in the 6^th, they came all the way back to lead by two at 6-4. For the next two frames, the game went quiet. Eventually, the bottom of the 9^th snuck up on the Cubs. Needing two to tie, and three to win, they came up against Dayton closer John Ghyzel. 
Ghyzel, tied with South Bend's Brian Glowicki in the Midwest League lead in saves, looked for the final three outs. To lead off the inning, Austin Filiere clobbered his 5^th home run over the left field wall to cut the lead in half. With nobody out, it was a 6-5 game. 
The Cubs were unable to get anything else started against the righty Ghyzel. He retired the next three in a row to pick up his 14^th save. With the loss, the Cubs fall back to under .500 at 38-39 on the campaign. 
They will have the opportunity to tie the series tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m. when the same two clubs square off in game two. Right hander Rollie Lacy is expected to start for the Cubs.