WEST MICHIGAN 14, DRAGONS 6
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West Michigan (R-H-E): 14-11-0; Dayton (R-H-E): 6-11-2
Win: Ben Jacobs (5-2); Loss: Kyle McCoy (4-6); Save: None
HR: Dayton: Justin Lebron (8th, 1 on base in third inning); Ty Doucette (7th, 2 on base in ninth inning). HR: West Michigan: Stephen Hrustich (6th, 0 on base in third inning); Christian Santana (15th, 1 on base in sixth inning); Juan Hernandez (3rd, 2 on base in eighth inning); Carson Rucker (4th, 2 on base in ninth inning).
Dayton, Ohio—The West Michigan Whitecaps hit four home runs and produced 14 runs for the second straight night as they defeated the Dayton Dragons 14-6 on Wednesday night. The Whitecaps have won the first two games of the six-game series in Dayton.
A crowd of 7,457 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.
Recap: West Michigan scored three runs in the top of the third inning to take a lead that they would not surrender. Stephen Hrustich hit a solo homer in the inning to get the scoring started.
Dayton’s Justin Lebron responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third to pull the Dragons to within a run at 3-2. The homer was the eighth of Lebron’s brief professional career in just his 19th game.
West Michigan put together another three-run inning in the sixth and extended their lead to 6-2. Christian Santana hit a two-run homer in the inning.
The Dragons closed the deficit to three in the bottom of the sixth when John Michael Faile tripled to the left field corner and scored on Tyson Lewis’ groundout to make it 6-3.
But West Michigan added four more runs in the eighth inning and four more in the top of the ninth to build their lead to 14-3. Dayton’s Ty Doucette hit a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth for Dayton to close out the scoring. Doucette’s homer was his seventh for the Dragons and his fifth in his last eight games.
The Dragons finished the night with 11 hits. Doucette had a home run and single to extend his hitting streak to 13 straight games, matching the Dragons season long set by Yerlin Confidan in May. Lebron also had a home run and single. Kien Vu and Kyle Henley each had two singles.
The Dragons raised their run total on the year to 718, 12 short of the club record set in 2000. There are four games to play in the regular season. The two home runs gave the Dragons a league-leading 175 for the year, the second highest total in Midwest League history, 12 short of the league record set by Great Lakes in 2021.
Up Next: The Dragons (25-35, 64-62) will host the Whitecaps (35-27, 59-67) in the third game of the six-game series on Thursday at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. JP Ortiz (5-2, 5.89) will start for the Dragons. 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.