DAYTON, OH – On 7/4/26, Nathan Dettmer fanned seven batters, Jared Sprague-Lott drove in four runs, and Blaze Pontes, wearing No. 26 on his back, closed out a Lansing Lugnuts (3-11, 32-46) 4-3 victory over the Dayton Dragons (7-6, 46-33) on an Independence Day Saturday night at Day Air Ballpark.
Leadoff hitter Sprague-Lott delivered a sacrifice fly in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth inning to wipe out an early 2-0 deficit before lacing a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh.
Starter Dettmer, meanwhile, settled in after a three-hit, two-run second inning to retire 12 straight batters between the second and sixth innings.
The San Antonio native set down Major League rehabber Ke’Bryan Hayes three straight times, struck out red hot Ryan McCrystal twice, and whiffed Peyton Stovall, Julio Carreras, Alfredo Alcantara, Marcus Smith and Mason Neville once apiece.
The Dragons crept within a run in the eighth inning on a McCrystal RBI double off of Pontes, but the native Hawaiian stranded McCrystal in scoring position to close out the eighth, then pitched around a two-out walk of Alcantara in a scoreless ninth to secure the win.
In the win, Lansing center fielder Pedro Pineda went 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and DH Rodney Green, Jr. finished 2-for-4 with two singles and two runs scored.
Noteworthy: This was the Lugnuts’ first July 4 in Dayton since 2005, an 8-7 Nuts victory.
The Nuts are 7-7 in the 15-game season series vs. the first half East Division champs with one game remaining: a Sunday finale at 1:05 p.m. between Steven Echavarria and Dayton right-hander Ty Floyd.
The Lugnuts remain on the road through the All-Star Break, next returning to JacksonⓇ Field™ for a three-game series against the Fort Wayne Tin Caps from July 17-19. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.
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