Captains Edge Dragons 5-4 to End Dayton Playoff Run

Lake County 5, Dragons 4 (East Division Playoffs, Game 2)

Click here for the box score

Lake County (R-H-E): 5-7-2; Dayton (R-H-E): 4-7-1

Win: Adam Tulloch (1-0); Loss: Arij Fransen (0-1); Save: Allan Hernandez (1)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Lake County: Jake Fox (1^st, 0 on base in fourth inning); Travis Bazzana (1^st, 0 on base in fifth inning).

Eastlake, Ohio—The Lake County Captains scored three runs in the sixth inning to overcome a 4-2 deficit and held off a Dayton comeback bid in the ninth inning to defeat the Dragons 5-4 on Thursday night.

The Dayton loss brings their 2024 season to a close as Lake County sweeps the best-of-three series, two-games-to-none.

Game Summary:

The Dragons scored two runs in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Victor Acosta was hit by a pitch with one out, went to second on a groundout, and scored on Jay Allen II’s two-out single to right field. Allen stole second and scored on a hard single to left by Ethan O’Donnell to make it 2-0.

Lake County’s Jake Fox belted a solo home run to right field in the fourth to make it 2-1.

The Dragons responded with two runs in the fifth inning. Allen doubled to left with one out and scored on O’Donnell’s single to make it 3-1. O’Donnell eventually scored when Cam Collier grounded into a double play as the Dragons extended their lead to 4-1.

Lake County’s Travis Bazzana hit a solo home run in the fifth to make it 4-2, a lead the Dragons held as they went to their bullpen to start the sixth. Dayton starter Brian Edgington worked the first five innings, allowing just three hits and two runs with three walks and four strikeouts.

Lake County scored three runs in the sixth inning, taking advantage of a costly Dayton error that prolonged their rally. Dayton reliever Arij Fransen surrendered back-to-back two-out, run-scoring singles to Jonah Advincula and Bazzana as Lake County took a 5-4 lead.

The Dragons had a chance in the ninth inning, just as they did on Tuesday in the first game of the playoff series, but just as they did on Tuesday, they allowed the opportunity to pass them by. Hector Rodriguez walked to start the inning, and with one out, O’Donnell singled to right to move Rodriguez to third. But on the first pitch to the next hitter, Leo Balcazar, O’Donnell attempted to steal second and was thrown out for the second out of the inning. Balcazar then hit a chopper to third baseman Alex Mooney, who made a high throw to first, but Ralphy Velazquez came off the bag to take the throw and apply the tag on Balcazar to end the game as Rodriguez was sprinting in from third.

The Dragons finished the night with seven hits. Allen and O’Donnell each had three.

Up Next: The Dragons will open their 25^th season in the Midwest League in April, 2025. The game schedule will be released in the coming days.