DRAGONS 9, WEST MICHIGAN 5
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Dayton (R-H-E): 9-12-1; West Michigan (R-H-E): 5-7-3
Win: Jimmy Romano (6-3); Loss: Luke Stofel (1-3); Save: None
HR: Dayton: John Michael Faile (14th, 0 on base in first inning); Kien Vu (15th, 1 on base in eighth inning). HR: West Michigan: Cristian Santana (16th, 2 on base in first inning).
Dayton, Ohio—John Michael Faile blasted a home run in the first inning to break the Dayton Dragons all-time career home run record that had stood for 24 years, and the Dragons went on to defeat the West Michigan Whitecaps 9-5 on Saturday night.
A crowd of 8,616 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.
Recap: West Michigan scored three runs before the first out of the game was recorded, getting a three-run home run from Cristian Santana to take an immediate 3-0 lead.
Faile led off the bottom of the first with a home run to center field, his 14th of the season and the 31st of his Dragons career, breaking the franchise record set by Chris Williamson from 2000-2002. The fans responded with a thundering ovation for Faile, who showed his appreciation by stepping back out of the dugout and tipping his cap to those in attendance.
“It just means that all the work that I've put in has paid off,” said Faile. “And that I show up each and every day and, stick to my routine and the things that I do and everybody here that's helped, you know, our hitting coach Troy (Gingrich) and how awesome he is, our strength coach Dom (Cothern), our athletic trainers, Sam (Tedtman) and (Tyler) Steele, all the coaches and, you know, especially Julio (Morillo) and the kind of manager he's been this year, it's been awesome. So, you know, it's awesome to go out there and accomplish something like that.
When did Faile that he had hit to the ball well enough to be a home run?
“About as soon as I made contact with it. It was one of those that, you know, I don't know if there's a better feeling in sports.”
Faile felt some pressure throughout the week but felt relief after hitting the homer.
“Yeah, the relief is especially real. I mean, now it just feels like a weight's lifted off my shoulders I don't have to worry about it anymore. Everybody that I talk to this week's talking about, hey, just one more homer, just one more homer, but now I can say that it's over. I don't have to worry about it. I can just go play and get ready for the playoffs.”
The Dragons scored three runs in the third inning to take the lead. Kyle Henley opened the inning with a base hit before Faile doubled off the left field fence to move Henley to third. A wild pitch brought in Henley, and Faile scored on a base hit by Kien Vu. Vu stole second, went to third on an infield single by Ty Doucette, and scored on an error to put Dayton in front, 4-3.
West Michigan scored one run in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. But the Dragons regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with an unearned run as Tyson Lewis reached on an error and eventually scored on Henley’s ground out to make it 5-4.
The Dragons added two more runs in the seventh. Justin Lebron had a hustling double to start the inning and one batter later, Johnny Ascanio singled him in to make it 6-4. Lewis followed with a double to left to drive in Ascanio and make it 7-4. Then in the eighth, Vu blasted a long home run to right field, his 15th homer with the Dragons and 20th of the year in the year in the Reds farm system to extend the lead to 9-4. West Michigan closed out the scoring with a run in the ninth.
The Dragons finished the night with 12 hits. Faile and Vu each had two hits including a home run. Doucette, Ascanio, and Henley also had two hits.
Up Next: The Dragons (28-35, 67-62) will host the Whitecaps (35-30, 59-70) in the last game of the six-game series and final game of the regular season on Sunday at 1:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. 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.