DRAGONS 5, FORT WAYNE 4
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Dayton (R-H-E): 5-7-0; Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 4-7-1
Win: Cody Adcock (4-1); Loss: Clay Edmondson (2-3); Save: None
HR: Dayton: Yerlin Confidan (4th, 0 on base in second inning); Kien Vu (9th, 1 on base in third inning). HR: Fort Wayne: None
Dayton, Ohio—Dayton’s Kien Vu stole home with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning to break a 4-4 tie and give the Dragons a walk-off 5-4 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps.
A crowd of 7,456 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.
The Dragons have won the first three games of the six-game series with Fort Wayne to create a situation where the top three teams in the East Division playoff race are separated by one-half game. With Thursday’s win, the Dragons are now 34-26. Great Lakes, who was rained out on Thursday, is 33-24, in first place. Lake County, who won on Thursday, is 34-25, three percentage points behind Great Lakes. The Dragons are in third place, one-half game behind both Great Lakes and Lake County. The Dragons have six games to play in the first half race. Lake County has seven to play, while Great Lakes has nine.
Game Recap: The Dragons took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Yerlin Confidan blasted a long home run to right field estimated at 428 feet. The homer was Confidan’s fourth of the season.
Fort Wayne scored a single run in the top of the third, but the Dragons responded in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Victor Acosta walked to start the inning, and Kien Vu belted a two-out, two-run home run to left field to put Dayton in front, 3-1. The homer was Vu’s ninth of the year.
The TinCaps pushed across another run in the top of the fifth, but the Dragons scored in the bottom of the inning. Victor Acosta was hit by a pitch, went from first to third on a bunt single by Carlos Sanchez followed by a throwing error, and scored on Alfredo Duno’s hard single to left to make it 4-2.
Fort Wayne came right back with a single run in the top of the seventh to get back to within one at 4-3. The TinCaps tied the game in the top of the eight after a pair of walks and a two-out RBI single by Kavares Tears to make it 4-4.
In the bottom of the ninth, Vu walked on four pitches with one out to start the game-winning rally, and Carter Graham followed by drawing a walk to move Vu to second. Fort Wayne brought in left-hander C.J. Widger to pitch, with three straight left-handed batters due up for Dayton. Widger hit Jacob Friend with a pitch to load the bases with one out, and Fort Wayne then went to a five-man infield with no right-fielder. Widger struck out Yerlin Confidan for the second out of the inning, allowing the TinCaps to go to a normal defensive alignment. The count ran to 2-2 on Peyton Stovall. As Widger came to a set position, Vu broke for the plate and beat the throw with a head-first slide to give the Dragons the winning run and end the game. Vu gave the Dragons a very rare walk-off steal of home.
"Every day of the week, I trust Stovall to get it done,” said Vu. “Julio (Morillo, manager/third base coach) was like, ‘you're down there. Do you think you can make it?’ And I was like, ‘yeah, if I get far enough.’ He was like, ‘do it.’ And that's where we're at. We're just trying to win ball games. That's all we're trying to do."
“We like winning,” continued Vu. “Who doesn't like winning? When you got all the tools to do it, you try to keep stacking wins."
Dragons starting pitcher David Lorduy worked five innings, allowing two runs on four hits with no walks or strikeouts. Beau Blanchard followed Lorduy and tossed two innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out five. Cody Adcock (4-1) tossed the final two innings and allowed the tying run in the eighth. He gave up one hit and walked two while striking out five and was credited with the victory.
The Dragons finished the night with seven hits. Vu had two hits including a home run as well as the game-winning stolen base. Graham also had two hits for Dayton.
Up Next: The Dragons (34-26) continue their six-game set with Fort Wayne (24-36) with the fourth game of the series on Friday at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Ovis Portes (1-2, 8.87) will start for Dayton. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.
On the Air: Dragons games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be televised in the Dayton market on the Dayton 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.