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Dragons Win, Force Decisive Third Game of Playoff Semi-Final Series

By Dayton Dragons
September 10, 2026

DRAGONS 3, GREAT LAKES 1 Click here for the box score Dayton (R-H-E): 3-6-0; Great Lakes (R-H-E): 1-5-0 Win: Jose Montero (1-0); Loss: Brooks Auger (0-1); Save: Trent Hodgdon (1) HR: Dayton: None HR: Great Lakes: None Dayton, Ohio—Dayton starting pitcher Kyle McCoy and three relievers combined to allow only

DRAGONS 3, GREAT LAKES 1

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 3-6-0; Great Lakes (R-H-E): 1-5-0

Win: Jose Montero (1-0); Loss: Brooks Auger (0-1); Save: Trent Hodgdon (1)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Great Lakes: None

Dayton, Ohio—Dayton starting pitcher Kyle McCoy and three relievers combined to allow only one run and Kyle Henley delivered a two-run triple as the Dragons defeated the Great Lakes Loons 3-1 on Thursday night. With the win, the Dragons evened the best-of-three Midwest League East Division playoff series at one win apiece.

The series will be decided on Friday in Dayton at 7:05 pm when the Dragons host the Loons, with the winner to advance to the Midwest League Championship Series starting Sunday night in Davenport, Iowa against the Quad Cities River Bandits.

A high-energy crowd of 7,802 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

Recap: After losing 6-0 in the series opener on Tuesday in Midland, Michigan, the Dragons hoped to get off to a good start on Thursday. In the top of the first inning, the Loons put runners at first and third with one out before the Dragons turned an inning-ending double play to prevent Great Lakes from taking a quick lead.

In the bottom of the first, Dayton lead-off hitter Justin Lebron reached on a dropped third strike, stole second, went to third on Ty Doucette’s single to right, and scored on Kien Vu’s ground out to give the Dragons the lead, 1-0.

The Dragons added two big runs in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Ryan McCrystal singled to right to start the inning and went to second on Johnny Ascanio’s bunt single. Two batters later, Kyle Henley lined a triple to the right field corner to bring in both McCrystal and Ascanio.

Dayton starting pitcher Kyle McCoy worked the first four innings, allowing three hits and two walks but no runs to keep the Loons off the scoreboard. Jose Montero replaced McCoy and worked scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth. Great Lakes got a two-out double in the seventh and Montero was replaced by Victor Diaz. Diaz allowed a run-scoring single to Gio Cueto to make it 3-1, but he struck out Midwest League batting champion Eduardo Quintero to end the inning.

In the eighth, Diaz began the inning by striking out Loons sluggers Emil Morales and Chuck Davalan before hitting a batter to bring the tying run to the plate. Diaz got Jaron Elkins to fly out to deep center to end the inning.

Dragons reliever Trent Hodgdon pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out the last two batters, to earn the save.

After the game, Hodgdon described what he wanted to do upon entering the game with a two-run lead in the ninth inning:

“Just sticking to the plan,” he said. “What we've really preached all season, just getting ahead in the count. And [Pitching Coach Willie Blair] always says, get ahead in the count (and) you're going to have success and that was the main thing, just trying to stay ahead the whole time.”

What will it take to close out the series with a win on Friday?

“Just (executing) the fundamentals,” said Hodgdon. “We've got to make the fundamental plays, and we've been doing it all season. Just got to do what we've been doing.”

The win was the Dragons first playoff game victory since 2017, and their first home playoff game win since 2011. The win was just the second win of a semi-final round playoff game in Dragons history. In 2017, they also won a game to get that semi-final round series to a decisive third game for the first time ever as a franchise, but they lost to Fort Wayne, 3-0.

The Dragons finished Thursday’s game with six hits. McCrystal had two hits and is 4 for 8 in the series.

Up Next: The third and deciding game of the Midwest League East Division best-of-three playoff set with the Loons will be played on Friday night at 7:05 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.