The Dragons, who drop two out of three in the series and now head to Wisconsin to take on a streaking Beloit Snappers squad, ran in place with West Michigan for four innings until Dayton reliever Josh Thigpen (L, 3-3) became the victim of the five-run, 10-batter frame, beginning with a leadoff walk to Brooks Colvin. After a Nick McIntyre double, Brent Dlugach gave the Whitecaps the lead for good at 3-2 with an RBI single, followed two batters later by Matt Parrish knocking in the decisive run when Dragons third baseman Bradley Key mishandled a slow grounder.

West Michigan tacked on insurance runs thereafter, on Jeff Frazier's two-run double and a Luis Sabino RBI single. With a five-run cushion, Whitecaps starter Jair Jurrjens (W, 6-3) shifted into cruise control, blanking the Dragons for his last two innings on only a hit to pick up the win. Matter of fact, the Dragons actually threatened both innings with a comeback in mind, but were foiled in both frames on inning-ending double play grounders.

The Dragons raced out of the gate with a 2-0 lead in the first inning, powered behind B.J. Szymanski's fourth home run of the year, a two-run bomb to center off Jurrjens. The Whitecaps retaliated though in the second to cut the lead in half, on an RBI double by Dusty Ryan. Dragons starter Homer Bailey (ND) then allowed the first two runners to reach base in the third, keyed by a McIntyre single and a walk to Dlugach. Two batters later, Parrish tied the game on an RBI grounder, allowing McIntyre to score.

In a game that combined 22 hits, Dayton surrendered 16 and were planted behind the eight-ball often, allowing the leadoff man to reach base seven times, including six consecutive innings. McIntyre, who rounded out the visiting side of the offense with an RBI single in the ninth, paced West Michigan's offense with an incredible 6-for-6 night with an RBI, stolen base, and two runs scored. The feat also marked a West Michigan franchise high for individual hits in one game.

John Purdom and Cody Strait each collected two hits for Dayton, who added an additional run in the ninth on a solo homer by Jeremiah Piepkorn, his ninth homer of the year.