Cam Collier has Historic 3-Home Run Night as Dragons Winning Streak Reaches Nine

Dragons 11, Cedar Rapids 4

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 11-16-1; Cedar Rapids (R-H-E): 4-12-0

Win: Jose Franco (1-2); Loss: John Klein (8-3); Save: None

HR: Dayton: Cam Collier, 3 (16^th, 1 on base in first inning; 17^th, 0 on base in second inning; 18^th, 1 on base in sixth inning); Connor Burns (1^st, 2 on base in second inning); Ethan O’Donnell (8^th, 0 on base in second inning).

NOTE: The home runs by O'Donnell and Collier in the second inning were back-to-back.

HR: Cedar Rapids: Walker Jenkins (1^st, 0 on base in third inning).

Video Highlights:

Cam Collier home run #1: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1827128004943999422

Cam Collier home run #2: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1827137010378682691

Cam Collier home run #3: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1827152044622307658

Connor Burns home run: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1827132633152713031

Ethan O’Donnell home run: https://x.com/DragonsBaseball/status/1827134886609600994

Dayton, Ohio—Cam Collier became just the second Dayton player in the 24-year history of Day Air Ballpark to hit three home runs in a home game as the Dragons defeated the Cedar Rapids Kernels 11-4 on Friday night. The win was the ninth in a row for the Dragons, their longest winning streak since the 2019 season.

A crowd of 8,384 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

With the win, the Dragons increased their lead in the playoff race to four and one-half games over West Michigan and six games over Great Lakes, who both lost on Friday night. There are 14 games to play in the regular season.

When history repeats itself 🐲 🐲 ....

Cam Collier is only the second Dragons player in history to score three home runs in a single game at the ballpark. #feelthefire pic.twitter.com/UTIUsKp7SI

— Dayton Dragons (@DragonsBaseball) August 24, 2024

Game Summary:

The Dragons jumped out to a big lead over the first two innings as they scored two runs in the first and five more in the second to take a 7-0 lead.

In the first, Cam Collier blasted a two-out, two-run home run to right field to start the scoring. In the second, Connor Burns drilled a long home run estimated at 443’ to center field with two men on base to make it 5-0. Later in the same inning, Ethan O’Donnell belted a home run to center, his eighth homer of the year, and Collier followed with an opposite field home run to left, giving the Dragons back-to-back homers for the third time this season, to make it 7-0.

Cedar Rapids scored a single run in the third, but the Dragons responded with a run in the fourth when Hector Rodriguez hustled around to score from first base on Jay Allen II’s single to make it 8-1. Cedar Rapids cut their deficit to 8-2 with a run in the top of the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Collier drilled a home run to straight away center field with a man on base to make it 10-2. The homer was Collier’s third of the game and 18^th of the year and gave him a home run to left, center, and right in the game. The only other player in Dragons history to hit three home runs in a home game was Juan Francisco on August 19, 2007. The Dragons added another run in the eighth when Rodriguez doubled and scored on a single by Leo Balcazar to make it 11-2. Cedar Rapids scored two runs in the ninth to close out the scoring.

Dayton starting pitcher Jose Franco earned the win, going five innings and allowing one run on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Nestor Lorant, just called up from Daytona, went three innings in his Dragons debut, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

The Dragons finished the night with 16 hits. Collier, who drove in five runs with his three homers, led the attack. Balcazar and Rodriguez also had three hits. O’Donnell had a home run and single. John Michael Faile had two doubles.

Up Next: The Dragons (34-18, 68-50) host Cedar Rapids (24-28, 61-55) again on Saturday at 7:05 pm in the fifth game of the six-game series at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Mason Pelio (0-3, 8.83) will start for the Dragons against Connor Prielipp (0-1, 6.10). For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: The Dragons game on Saturday night will be televised on Dayton’s CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013). 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.