Balcazar Leads Dragons to Fourth Straight Win 

Dragons 4, Fort Wayne 3

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 4-7-1; Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 3-9-5

Win: Arij Fransen (3-2); Loss: Jackson Smeltz (2-1); Save: Brock Bell (6)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Fort Wayne: None

Dayton, Ohio—Dayton shortstop Leo Balcazar collected three hits, drove in two runs, and made an outstanding game-ending defensive play to lead the Dragons to a 4-3 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Thursday night. The win was the fourth straight for the Dragons and improved their second half record to 17-10. They are 10-2 at home in the second half.

A crowd of 7,623 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

With the win, the Dragons now hold a three and one-half game lead over second place West Michigan in the second half playoff race with 39 games to play.

Game Summary:

The Dragons took an early lead with two runs in the first inning. After a walk and a Cam Collier double to the right field corner, Leo Balcazar hit a chopper along the third base line that hit the base and bounced over the head of the third baseman to drive in two runs and give Dayton a 2-0 lead.

Dragons starting pitcher Brian Edgington retired the first eight batters of the game including four on strikeouts, but with two outs and the bases empty in the third, Fort Wayne produced four straight singles tallying three runs to take a 3-2 lead.

The Dragons tied the game in the bottom of the third. Jay Allen II reached on a infield single, went to second on a ground out, stole third, and scored on the same play when the catcher’s throw to third was wide of the base and carried into left field.

Fort Wayne nearly took the lead in the sixth against Dragons reliever Arij Fransen. They had a runner at third with no outs but Fransen worked out of the jam, getting a strikeout, a foul pop out, and a fly out as Fort Wayne left the bases loaded.

The score was still tied when the Dragons came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. Hector Rodriguez opened the inning by reaching on an error on the Fort Wayne pitcher on a two-hopper back to the mound. Cam Collier singled to move Rodriguez to second. Balcazar then blooped a single to center. Rodriguez rounded third but put on the brakes as Fort Wayne’s center fielder, Homer Bush Jr., fired the ball home. Bush’s throw glanced off the glove of the cut-off man, first baseman Romeo Sanabria, allowing Rodriguez to race home with the tie-breaking run.

Fort Wayne collected a pair of singles in the top of the ninth against Dragons reliever Brock Bell. With two outs and runners at first and second, Fort Wayne’s Nick Vogt smashed a hard one-hop liner toward Dayton shortstop Leo Balcazar, who made a slick play on the ball and flipped to second for the force out to end the game.

Bell explained his process in the ninth. "Just following up Edgington, and Fransen was awesome. Just trusted my defense and stuck to the game plan…just loving the game. I come out and compete the best I can and live with the results."

"We've got such a great fan base here. It's one of the best in the league, it's one of the best in all of minor league baseball. It's easy to come out and play and show appreciation to these fans. We're on a good roll right now. We're trusting each other. We believe in each other. We've got a good atmosphere going."

Fransen (3-2) threw three scoreless innings of relief for the win, and Bell picked up his sixth save by working the ninth inning and protecting a one-run lead.

The Dragons had seven hits. Balcazar was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Collier had two hits including a double.

Up Next: The Dragons (17-10, 51-42) will host Fort Wayne (9-18, 37-56) in the fourth game of the six-game series on Friday at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Jose Franco (0-1, 2.88) will start for Dayton against Fort Wayne’s Braden Nett (0-1, 8.71). For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

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.