Lugnuts rock Dragons, Co-9 to 4

By Jesse Goldberg-Strassler

May 30, 2019

DAYTON, OH - Griffin Conine crushed two homers and two doubles in his second Midwest League game, tandem-mates Troy Watson and Josh Hiatt were nearly unhittable, and the Lansing Lugnuts (23-29) cruised to a rainy rubber-match victory over the Dayton Dragons (16-38), 9-4, on Thursday night at Fifth Third Field.Conine,

DAYTON, OH - Griffin Conine crushed two homers and two doubles in his second Midwest League game, tandem-mates Troy Watson and Josh Hiatt were nearly unhittable, and the Lansing Lugnuts (23-29) cruised to a rainy rubber-match victory over the Dayton Dragons (16-38), 9-4, on Thursday night at Fifth Third Field.

Conine, the Blue Jays' second-round selection in 2018, had delivered a tie-breaking RBI single in his Lugnuts debut on Wednesday. On Thursday, his second impression was even stronger: doubles to left in his second and third at-bats, followed by a a solo home run in the seventh inning and a two-run homer in the eighth, both to left field. It was his second professional multi-homer game, joining a three-hit, two-HR performance on July 6, 2018, with Vancouver.

Ryan Gold added an RBI single and a two-run homer of his own for the Lugnuts, who piled up 14 hits in taking two of three games from Dayton.

Nuts starter Watson (Win, 1-0) gave up only one hit and two unearned runs in five innings, all in the fifth, while striking out three and walking one. Hiatt followed with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and fanning five.

In the win, leadoff hitter Reggie Pruitt finished 3-for-5 with his league-leading 22nd and 23rd stolen bases, and Otto Lopez went 1-for-5 with a triple, extending his on-base streak to 21 games.

Dayton starter Jhon De Jesus (Loss, 1-5) gave up four runs, one earned, in 4 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and two walks. He was followed to the mound by Eduardo Salazar, who gave up home runs to Conine and Gold in the seventh, and then Eddy Demurias, who was victimized by Conine in the eighth.

Jay Schuyler swatted a two-run homer in the ninth off Mike Pascoe to close out the scoring.

The Nuts return to Cooley Law School Stadium on Friday for a three-game homestand against the Bowling Green Hot Rods - a homestand featuring Forrest Gump Night on Friday, Mystery Jersey Night on Saturday and a special Delta Dental Kids Day / Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with TMNT-themed jerseys on Sunday! To live the Lug Life and purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
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