Dragons Close Out Regular Season With Win; Playoffs Start Wednesday

In their final tune-up for the Midwest League playoffs, the Dayton Dragons edged the West Michigan Whitecaps 5-4 on Monday afternoon to close out the regular season. The Dragons finished the second half with a 38-32 record, in second place in the Midwest League Eastern Division.

The Dragons pounded out 14 base hits in the victory including a two-run home run by Jason Bour. The win prevented the Whitecaps from sweeping the four-game series.

Dayton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Jake Kahaulelio began the inning by lining a single to center field and went around to third on Zack Cozart’s double to left. One batter later, Brandon Waring drilled a double to left to bring in both runners.

In the second, Kevyn Feiner reached on an error with one out and eventually scored on Frankie Meade’s infield single to make it 3-0.

Denis Phipps led off the Dayton third inning with a double to left and with one out, Bour homered to left, his seventh long ball of the season, to give Dayton a 5-0 lead.

West Michigan started back in the third on Joe Tucker’s solo home run to make it 5-1. Then in the sixth, Kody Kaiser connected on a three-run home run off Dragons’ starter Daniel Guerrero to make it 5-4.

But Dragons reliever Derrick Conatser got the final out in the sixth with the tying run at second and pitched a scoreless seventh. In the eighth, Aguido Gonzalez replaced Conatser with two on and two out and got Chris White to fly to right to end the inning. Gonzalez worked a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.

Guerrero, who established a new Dragons career record with his 40th start over this three-year career in Dayton, earned the win (2-5). He worked five and two-thirds innings, allowing 10 hits and four runs with two walks and two strikeouts.

All 11 Dragons batters in the game had at least one hit. Bour, Waring, and Neftali Soto each had two hits.

The Dragons begin the Midwest League playoffs on Wednesday at Fifth Third Field against the Lansing Lugnuts at 7:00 p.m. Jeremy Horst (8-2, 2.38) will start for Dayton against Lansing’s Mark Rzepczynski (7-6, 2.83). For tickets, call (937) 228-2287