Loons Open Series with 14-3 Win over Dragons on Tuesday

GREAT LAKES 14, DRAGONS 3

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Great Lakes (R-H-E): 14-16-2; Dayton (R-H-E): 3-9-0

Win: Davis Chastain (5-0); Loss: Ovis Portes (1-1); Save: None

HR: Dayton: Alfredo Alcantara (6^th, 0 on base in seventh inning). HR: Great Lakes: Emil Morales, 2 (1^st, 1 on base in first inning; 2^nd, 3 on base in ninth inning).

Dayton, Ohio—Emil Morales hit two home runs including a grand slam to lead the Great Lakes Loons to a 14-3 victory over the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday night in the opener to a six-game series.

A crowd of 7,554 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

With the loss, the Dragons fell to four games behind first place Great Lakes in the Midwest League East Division with 20 games to play in the first half season.

Game Recap: Great Lakes wasted no time in jumping out to the lead, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning on the first two pitches of the game. Emil Morales connected on a two-run homer after a lead-off single to put the Loons in front, 2-0.

Great Lakes added two more runs in the third, getting a run-scoring double by Nico Perez, who then scored on a single by Jose Meza to make it 4-0.

The Dragons took advantage of two Loons errors in the bottom of the sixth before Kien Vu delivered a run-scoring triple to pull Dayton to within three runs at 4-1.

But Great Lakes responded immediately with four runs in the top of the seventh. Three of the runs came on a bases-loaded triple by Kole Myers as the Loons expanded their lead to 8-1.

Dayton’s Alfredo Alcantara hit a long home run to left field with the bases empty in the bottom of the seventh to make it 8-2. The homer was Alcantara’s sixth of the year.

The Loons scored six runs in the top of the ninth, keyed by a grand slam home run by Morales. The Dragons closed out the scoring with a single run in the bottom of the ninth, scoring on a bases loaded double play groundout.

Dragons starting pitcher Ovis Portes (1-1) allowed four runs on seven hits in four and one-third innings, issuing two walks while striking out five. He was charged with the loss.

The Dragons finished the night with 10 hits. Alcantara, Vu, Esmith Pineda, and Carter Graham each had two hits.

Up Next: The Dragons (25-21) host Great Lakes (28-16) in the second game of the six-game series on Wednesday at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Reynardo Cruz (0-1, 5.67) will start for Dayton against Zach Root (0-1, 2.77). 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.