Dragons Win Thriller, Advance to 2nd Round
Grand Rapids, Mich.-Dayton's Cassidy Brown scored from third base on a passed ball with one out in the top of the 11th inning and the Dayton Dragons held on to defeat the West Michigan Whitecaps 4-3 in the deciding game of the Midwest League East Division playoff series on Friday
Grand Rapids, Mich.-Dayton's
With the win, the Dragons advance to the second round of the playoffs against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The second round series is also a best-of-three set and it will begin Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. in Fort Wayne.
After the first game of the series in Fort Wayne, the battle will move to Dayton for game two on Sunday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Fifth Third Field. If the series extends to a third game, it will also be played in Dayton, on Monday at 7:00 p.m. For purchase tickets, go to this link: http://www.ticketmaster.com/search?tm_link=tm_homeA_header_search&user_input=dayton+dragons&q=dayton+dragons
The Dragons box office at Fifth Third Field will be open from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and starting at noon on Sunday.
The Dragons won the game despite a second heart-breaking ninth inning moment in the series, just as they endured on Wednesday in game one. The Dragons led 3-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before West Michigan scored two runs to tie the game on an error on a dropped throw at second base on a play that would have ended the game.
But the Dragons got out of further trouble in the ninth and worked out of a jam in the 10th. Brown led off the top of the 11th with a double to the right field corner. He went to third on
Just as they did on Thursday, the Dragons scored one run in the top of the first inning.
West Michigan immediately put together a major threat in the bottom of the first as they loaded the bases with no outs on two walks and an infield single. Dragons starting pitcher
West Michigan had a chance to take the lead in the fourth when they loaded the bases with one out, but Santillan got back-to-back strikeouts to work out of trouble.
The Dragons broke the tie in the sixth inning.
Santillan, the Dragons starting pitcher, threw 93 pitches over four innings but battled out of jams and kept his team in position to win. Santillan allowed one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out six.
All Dragons games are broadcast on radio on Fox Sports 980 WONE and on the internet at wone.com. Games are also available on the Dayton Dragons mobile app.