Dragons rally to beat Great Lakes
Apr. 15—Mat Nelson's two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie and the Dayton Dragons held on for a 6-4 victory over the Great Lakes Loons on Saturday afternoon.
After Great Lakes scored a single run in the top of the first inning on a home run by Alex Freeland, the Dragons responded in the second. After a walk to Austin Hendrick and a single by Justice Thompson, Jack Rogers blasted a three-run home run to right field to give the Dragons a 3-1 lead.
Great Lakes battled back with two runs in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3. But the Dragons regained the lead in the seventh. Luis Chevalier walked to start the inning and with two outs, Nelson lined a home run to left field to give the Dragons a 5-3 lead.
Great Lakes scored a single run in the top of the eighth before Dragons reliever Owen Holt struck out Austin Gauthier with two men on base to prevent further damage.
The Dragons scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Chevalier singled with two outs to bring in Thompson, who had doubled and advanced to third on an error.
In the ninth, with Jake Gozzo on the mound, Dayton right fielder Blake Dunn made a tremendous leaping catch against the fence to prevent an extra base hit. Gozzo pitched a scoreless inning for his first save of the season.
Thompson was 3-for-3 with a walk, while Nelson and Chevalier each had two hits.
The Dragons can earn a split in the six-game series on Sunday.
SUNDAY'S GAME
Great Lakes at Dayton, 1:05 p.m., 980
