Captains Score 4 in 9th, Top Dragons 5-2 on Sunday

Lake County 5, Dragons 2

Click here for the box score

Lake County (R-H-E): 5-9-0; Dayton (R-H-E): 2-5-0

Win: Shawn Rapp (2-0); Loss: Dylan Simmons (0-1); Save: Allan Hernandez (5)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Lake County: None

Dayton, Ohio—The Lake County Captains scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat the Dayton Dragons 5-2 on Sunday afternoon. Despite the loss, the Dragons won the six-game series with the Captains, four games to two.

A crowd of 7,970 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

The Dayton loss coupled with a West Michigan win over Beloit cut the Dragons lead in the second half playoff race to one-half game over the Whitecaps. Great Lakes is two and one-half games behind the Dragons. There are 24 games to play.

Game Summary:

Lake County took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Dragons responded with a two-run second inning. Leo Balcazar singled to start the Dayton rally, extending his hitting streak to 11 straight games. Balcazar advanced from first to third on a ground out and fly out before Cade Hunter drew a walk. Hunter stole second, and Johnny Ascanio followed with a hard two-run single to right field to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead.

Dragons starting pitcher Gabriel Aguilera was able to pitch out of trouble to give the club a good outing. He worked five innings, allowing five hits and one run with four walks and two strikeouts. The Captains had runners in scoring position against Aguilera in the second, third, and fourth innings without scoring.

Brody Jessee replace Aguilera to start the sixth and worked two scoreless innings. Dylan Simmons took over on the mound and pitched a scoreless eighth inning as the game moved to the ninth with the Dragons leading 2-1.

Lake County’s Isaiah Greene opened the ninth against Simmons with a bloop hit to left and Simmons walked the next batter. Brock Bell replaced Simmons and issued a walk to load the bases with no one out. The next batter, Angel Genao grounded to second base with the lead runner forced out at the plate for the first out of the inning. But Esteban Gonzalez lined a two-run single to left field to give Lake County a 3-2 lead. One batter later, Jake Fox singled to right to drive in two more runs and give the Captains a 5-2 lead. The Dragons were unable to get the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.

The game featured some of the defensive plays of the year by the Dragons. In the fourth inning, right fielder Carlos Jorge threw out a runner at the plate on a potential sacrifice fly for a double play, perhaps the best throw of the season by a Dayton outfielder. Later in the same inning, Jorge made a sensational leaping catch in traffic in the Lake County bullpen for the third out of the inning. Then in the seventh, with runners at first and third and the Dragons leading by one run, first baseman Carter Graham made a diving catch of a hard ground ball, got to his feet, and made a successful dive to the first base bag to beat the hitter on a close play to save a run.

Up Next: The Dragons (25-17, 59-49) do not play on Monday. They will travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana to open a six-game series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Tuesday night at 6:35 pm. T.J. Sikkema (3-3, 4.66) will start for the Dragons.

The next home game at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District is Tuesday, August 20 against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at 7:05 pm. 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.